Pokémon: Crossing Over
by Mr. Nugget
Summary: As little kids we've all dreamed of going to the Pokémon World, right? A seventeen year old gets more than he bargains for when he helps an old fortune teller out and wakes up to a strange sight...
1. A New World Part 1

**4/10/11-**** Hey! Welcome to Pokemon: Crossing Over, my first fanfic. For those of you who've seen this floating around or read this earlier, you may notice a few changes. This first part of A New World has been rewritten. The rest of the chapters will also be rewritten and posted ASAP. It's thanks to feedback that I've been able to improve on writing this. If you feel lost on any chapter, let me know so I know what to rewrite and add. Enjoy the first chapter and happy reading!** **Check my profile for news, updated every Sunday!**** And also, a quick shout out to aXis Elric, formerly known as The Mysterious Riolu! He got a new account, and ever since, people haven't given him much feedback on his story, Wings of Success. You guys should read it too, and give him feedback! :)**

* * *

"Whoo-hoo!" My shout echoed as I rode a giant light blue bird with long shimmering blue tail feathers. The bird soared gracefully through the air as the full moon shone, making the chilled air around the bird shimmer and twinkle in response.

"_Wow..."_ I thought as the beautiful scene passed through the air. Time seemed to be nonexistent as the bird and I continued to soar endlessly, until something strange happened. A sudden shaking and rocking occurred underneath me. It grew from a slight vibration to a more violent rumble. Something was wrong!

_"Hey, what's wrong?" _It felt like time slowed down as I leaned forward to look at the bird's face. It's eyes were drooping shut and it was losing consciousness! My heart skipped a beat as I started to feel a sudden falling sensation.

_"Oh no!" _I tightened my hold on the unconscious bird as we plummeted, hoping the bird would somehow save us both. I felt the air being sucked out of my lungs as we fell. It was only a matter of time before we collided with the ground. But suddenly... the plummeting sensation stopped.

"Hey Ryan," Someone said as they shook my shoulder back and forth. I slowly opened my eyes in response, while my heart was still pounding and my head was still registering what had happened.

"Ride's over!" Carter told me, wearing a smug look on his face. I looked around. Carter and I were strapped in sturdy looking harnesses. I nearly forgot I was at an amusement park, worse yet, a roller coaster.

"Hey, we'd better go get Taylor, she's probably having loads of fun with her secret admirer back there!" Carter ended in a singsong tone. I nodded, but I honestly had no clue who it was. He mentioned something about a secret admirer earlier, but he never told me who it was! Then again, I don't think he knew either, otherwise he would've told me in a heartbeat.

I saw Carter figure out how to unlock the harness and get out, so I followed his lead. _"The sooner I'm off of this thing, the better..."_ I thought as I quickly unfastened my harness.

* * *

Ryan followed Carter out of the roller coaster cart and stepped into the waiting area where many people were standing in a long line, for a turn on the roller coaster. Ryan's jet black hair was moist with sweat as he followed Carter.

"I wonder where Taylor could be?" Carter asked as he looked around at the many people surrounding them. Some of the people walking past them seemed to share the same perspiration Ryan had.

"Ryan, you see her? Cause I can't," Carter said to Ryan. Ryan slightly looked up at Carter's face to respond. Carter was definitely taller than him, especially with his taller and skinnier frame.

"Believe me, if you can't see, I wouldn't be able to either," Ryan said, crossing his arms. Carter simply shrugged, knowing how true Ryan's statement was, and went back to peering around for their missing friend.

"Maybe we should wait outside, she might be-" Ryan stopped mid sentence as he heard something behind him. It sounded like someone was asking someone for an autograph, and a female voice obliging.

"_That sounded like Taylor!"_ Ryan turned around to confirm his suspicions. His suspicions were correct. Taylor was standing next to her secret admirer! She reached into her jeans' pocket and pulled out a black permanent marker and asked where she should sign. Taylor swept her beautiful shoulder length hair aside as she began to write her autograph with a smile.

"_The secret admirer's a little boy?"_ Ryan had imagined something else when Carter had mentioned a secret admirer. He had imagined someone older... and a bit geekier to be the secret admirer. The admirer was an innocent little boy, who seemed to be one of Taylor's fans.

"And I thought it was someone else!" Ryan stopped as he noticed Carter wasn't paying attention. He knocked Carter's arm with the back of his fist, which got his attention.

"Taylor's right there," Ryan said as he pointed to where Taylor was finishing her signature on the back of the boy's white shirt.

"Oh!" Carter exclaimed as he looked at Taylor. His eyes widened as they went from the smiling boy to the beauty who offered her hand to the boy. "That's the secret admirer?" Carter blurted out as Taylor and the boy approached them.

"Hi mister!" The boy waved to Carter, who returned the greeting with a smile. The boy's eyes lit up as he looked at Carter's red T-shirt and recognized the black logo on the front. "My big brother likes your music!"

"That's awesome to hear little guy!" Carter fist pumped in his head. "Say, what's your name?" He asked the boy.

"I'm Sam!" Sam introduced. Taylor patted his head as she added:

"He's my little cousin!" Taylor pulled her pink cellphone out from her pocket and pressed a button, illuminating the screen. A digital time was displayed, along with a wacky background picture of her, Carter and Ryan. "Oh, it's almost seven thirty! We'd better get you back to your mom!" Taylor pocketed her cellphone and began walking, holding Sam's hand.

"Sounds like a plan," Ryan nodded as the group began walking away from the roller coaster attraction. Light poles started to glow, as the sunset was almost gone, leaving orange and purple shaded clouds in the sky. Night was creeping in.

"Taylor, you should have seen the look on Ryan's face during the ride... It was priceless!" Carter chuckled as Ryan rolled his eyes.

"Come on Carter, drop it. I mean..." Ryan began piecing together a defense for his fear.

"You know I'm only kidding!" Carter laughed. Taylor nudged him on his side, while Sam was confused. Sam tugged on Ryan's black windbreaker to get his attention.

"Mister, why are you afraid of roller coasters? They're fun!" Sam asked him. Taylor and Carter looked at each other with panicked looks.

"Well, uh... I guess so," Ryan rubbed the back of his head as he looked around. The lines of various carnival stands ended as they came to an open plaza, which stood in the middle of the amusement park. A fountain, with a stone figurine of a sitting wolf looking up, stood at the center of the plaza. The flowing water from the wolf's mouth went into the fountain, where various coins were scattered at the bottom.

"Hey, I'll be right back," Ryan added suddenly as he noticed a restroom sign across the plaza. He wiped away a sweat bead that started to fall down his face.

"Okay. We're gonna go get Sam to his mom and meet you here," Carter told Ryan, who nodded and walked off towards the restroom. Taylor looked concerned, but she decided to wait until later to worry. She led Sam by hand and went to look for his mom. Carter followed alongside Taylor.

"Carter, is he alright?" Taylor asked with a hint of worry in her voice. "I know we said we'd try to get him over his roller coaster fear, but do you think we went a little too far?" Carter shook his head.

"Nah, he's fine! He was sweating, but nothing too bad," Carter told Taylor, who didn't seem convinced. "Besides, we did everything the psychology teacher said, it's all up to Ryan to get over it," Carter added.

"I guess so... but I still can't help but worry," Taylor said to Carter's amusement.

"Jeez, aren't you the dedicated mom?" Carter chuckled, but was silenced with a deadly glare from Taylor. Sam was curiously listening in and decided to ask a question he had asked earlier:

"Why is that man scared of roller coasters?" Taylor and Carter hesitated to answer as their thoughts wandered to a movie night a couple of years ago. It was almost like it had happened yesterday.

* * *

"_Come on guys! We're going to be late!" Taylor said as she dragged Carter and Ryan, by hand, down the sidewalk. _

"_It's not like we're gonna miss much," Carter replied and added in a slightly mocking tone: "Besides, wasn't your boyfriend supposed to pick you up?"_

"_Ugh, don't remind me," Taylor said, hiding most of her frustration. "He said he had nothing to do tonight, but then this party 'suddenly' got scheduled!" _

"_Maybe he's too embarrassed to be seen next to a Drama girl?" Carter lightheartedly suggested. Ryan's eyes widened in response._

"_Shut up Carter... It's probably not the best time for this," Ryan whispered as he motioned towards Taylor. Her face was blank of expression as Carter's words seemed to take their toll. Ryan quickly decided to change the subject, before the night ended in complete disaster. "Hey, there's the theater!" The three friends slowed their pace in order to examine the movie posters on the movie theater's wall._

"_How about this one?" Taylor suggested as they stopped and looked at the movie poster titled, 'Roller Coaster of Doom Three'._

"_Really?" Carter simply remarked as his eyes bounced between the cheesy monster and his soon to be victims, a man dramatically holding an attractive woman. _

"_Well, he looks dreamy..." Taylor said as she looked at the man on the poster. Carter slapped his forehead and continued to talk to Taylor while Ryan stood aside, silently getting chills up his spine._

"_Roller coaster? Ugh," Ryan shook his head. "But, it's for Taylor! I guess..." Ryan sighed and walked over to the ticket booth._

"_Excuse me, could I get three tickets to Roller Coaster Three?" Ryan asked the clerk in the booth as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet. The tickets were on him, since Carter and Taylor were still talking in front of the poster._

"_I wonder if I should be spending the money dad left for movie tickets? He left a lot of it, enough to last a week, but..." Ryan was lost in his thoughts. "I wonder where dad is anyways? All he said was he needed to go on 'official business'..."_

_The clerk coughed to get Ryan's attention. _

"_Oh! Sorry..." Ryan rubbed the back of his head as he blushed. The clerk handed Ryan his change and the three movie tickets. Ryan pocketed his change and walked over to Carter and Taylor, who were still talking._

"_Hey guys, decide on a movie yet?" Ryan asked as he subtly hid the newly bought tickets. Carter and Taylor looked at each other in slight annoyance._

"_Well, I've been trying to tell her that movie is beyond terrible," Carter said as he pointed to the Roller Coaster Three poster. "Even though the rest of the band already saw the movie and told me about it, she's not convinced!" Carter continued as he presented indisputable evidence. _

"_You'll never know until you see it yourself, Carter!" Taylor retorted. "Besides, maybe they're all exaggerating!" Before Carter could say anything, Ryan cut in._

"_We're gonna have to find out ourselves," Ryan said as he revealed the movie tickets to Carter and Taylor. Taylor looked at Carter and grinned while Carter slightly rolled his eyes in response._

"_Okay, I guess you win," Carter sighed as Taylor smugly nodded. "Just let me get some popcorn, gotta enjoy something," Carter added in slight humor. The three friends walked into the movie theater's lobby. A humble concession stand stood next to the dimly lit hall where the movie showing rooms were._

"_Hmm, I might get something too," Ryan thought as he looked at the display of various candies and treats shown off. Carter and Ryan approached the concession stand while Taylor kept her distance._

"_Taylor, you want anything?" Carter asked while smirking. He knew she hated movie popcorn, especially the extra buttery kind. Taylor glared at him, erasing his smirk nearly instantly._

"_No, that's kind of why I'm back here," Taylor pointed out while she crossed her arms. She shuddered as she watched Ryan and Carter get a giant bucket of buttery popcorn. "You know that's not even real butter, right? It's just oil," she pointed out. Ryan and Carter looked at the 'buttery' popcorn, at each other, and shrugged._

"_Meh, it's still good popcorn," Carter said as he took a kernel and popped it into his mouth. Taylor shivered at the sight as they began walking down the dimly lit hallway and into the movie showing room. _

"_Told you it was awful. We're the only ones here!" Carter said as he looked around the empty room. "I guess we should take the good seats, while they're still there," he added with sarcasm as they walked towards the back row of seats and sat down. Ryan and Carter sat next to each other, sharing the huge bucket of popcorn while Taylor sat next to Carter. She rolled her eyes. _

"_Boys," Taylor thought aloud as she turned her attention to the movie screen. Carter's ear twitched in response while his mind prepared a witty remark. He shook his head, having a second thought as he remembered earlier and instead turned to Ryan and whispered:_

"_This might be a long night," he said as the movie introduction began. The roaring surround sound didn't allow Ryan to respond, so he simply nodded. _

_The popcorn was gone a half an hour into the movie. Ryan began watching the movie, while Carter yawned at the boring plot development scenes. He didn't know what was happening. "Psst! Taylor, what's-" Carter began to ask her, but she kept her eyes peeled onto the screen and said:_

"_Shh! I need to see if they're going to get together!" Taylor said with excitement as she watched the couple dramatically talk to each other. Carter took one look at the screen and quickly looked away, disgusted. They were talking in a row boat, while the sun was setting. Was this a monster/slasher flick or an awful cheesy romance? _

"_I thought this was about roller coasters and monsters? Oh well, I'm not complaining," Ryan thought in silent relief. He didn't know what it was about roller coasters, just... he didn't like them. _

"_How the heck does this even come close to relating to roller coasters?" Carter thought as he set his head back on the seat. The melodramatic dialogue shifted to a lullaby that slowly caused Carter's eyelids to eventually close. The lullaby in Carter's ear faded to nice silent peace. The silence slowly evolved into a steady drum beat. A dynamic melody quietly emerged and quickly sped up, getting louder and louder. Then it suddenly stopped. BOOM._

"_W-What?" Carter shook, waking himself up. He looked at the screen. 'The End' was written in dark red with blood effects around it as the credits began to roll. He had slept through the entire movie!_

"_Carter, you're finally awake," Taylor noticed as she looked at him. Carter stretched his arms and yawned. _

"_Yeah, I'm not a fan of terrible movies," Carter turned to where Ryan was before he dozed off. "Where did Ryan go? He probably couldn't stand it either! Huh?" Carter chuckled at first, but quickly stopped as he saw a worried look on Taylor's face. _

"_That's the thing, we were talking a lot during the movie, trying to guess what would happen next," Taylor paused as Carter looked confused. She continued, "but then, there was this last part where they went on a roller coaster, and he suddenly stopped. He seemed to be sweating, and... well, he looked like he had seen a ghost!" Taylor paused as she and Carter realized:_

"_You don't think..." Carter and Taylor both said to each other._

"_Where is he?" Carter asked with concern in his voice. Taylor pointed in the direction of the dimly lit hallway._

"_He suddenly got up and shouted restroom when he left," Taylor told him. Carter nodded and quickly rose out of his seat. Taylor and Carter quickly left the showing room and looked down the hallway. A restroom sign hung on the wall in between two doors, at the end of the hallway. They walked over to the restroom doors. _

"_Ryan, you in there?" Carter knocked twice on the restroom door. There was no answer, but there was light shining through the crack at the bottom of the door. He repeated the knock after a couple of seconds, with the same result. As they began to walk away:_

"_The movie's over?" Carter and Taylor heard Ryan through the restroom door. They quickly ran back. _

"_Yeah, you okay in there?" Carter said as he and Taylor pressed their ears on the door. They heard him shutting a faucet off. Ryan unlocked the door, making a click noise. He opened the door as Taylor and Carter looked at him with concern. Ryan's red face was damp with sweat as he looked at his friends._

"_Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, we'd better go," he told them as he began to walk off. "Roller coasters..." Ryan shivered as he muttered the word._

* * *

"_Why am I so afraid of roller coasters?" _Ryan thought as he splashed a handful of water on his face. He quickly dried it with a paper towel before his black windbreaker could get wet.

"_I gotta get over this, but why is it so hard?" _Ryan threw the used paper towel into a trash can and looked in the restroom mirror in front of him. He performed a face check; color had reappeared on his face, his blue sapphire-like eyes weren't dilated or anything, and his face was slightly damp, but he figured it would dry soon.

"_I wonder," _Ryan's thought was interrupted by a rhythmic vibration in his jeans' pocket. He pulled out his cellphone and looked at the screen. _"Taylor's calling," _Ryan thought as he answered the vibrating phone. "Hey Taylor, what's up?" he asked.

"_Ryan, we can't find Sam's mom. Can you help us find her?" _Taylor asked as the background noise started to get louder.

"Yeah, meet me at the fountain. I'm still here," Ryan said as he walked out of the restroom.

"_Okay. See you there," _Taylor said as she hung up. Ryan pocketed his phone and walked over toward the fountain in the center of the plaza. The orange and purple clouds in the sky gave way to a dark blue as the moon began to shine. The moonlight gave the fountain water a unique shine that seemed fitting with the wolf statue.

"_It looks gorgeous," _Ryan thought as he looked around and saw passerby taking a picture or two of the sight and walking away. He suddenly felt someone tug his jeans, so he turned around to look.

"Hey mister!" Sam was behind him, along with Taylor and Carter, who greeted Ryan. Ryan smiled and waved to Sam, who had some sort of device in his hands.

"Hey little guy, what is that?" Ryan asked as he looked at the device. It looked like it could be folded shut, whatever it was. Video game noises and music were playing rhythmically.

"It's a Nintendo DS! I'm playing Pokemon: Platinum! See?" Sam replied as he showed Ryan the Nintendo DS' screens. Ryan widened his eyes as his eyes bounced between the two pokemon on screen.

"_Those are pokemon?" _Ryan thought as he looked at the pokemon that looked like a penguin, called Piplup. The other pokemon was a small grey and white bird named Starly. Nostalgia was replaced with slight confusion._"Wow, they look a little weird," _Ryan thought as Sam ordered Piplup to use Water Gun.

"Whoa, those are pokemon?" Carter said in a surprised tone as he looked at the DS' screen. "They definitely don't make 'em like they used to," he remarked to Ryan. Victory music played from the DS as Sam looked at Carter.

"You mean there are more pokemon?" Sam asked Carter, who smirked and nodded. He seemed to be nostalgic as he answered:

"Yeah, the _original_ 151 pokemon," Carter answered with a slight nod. Ryan noticed Taylor seemed to be lost in thought, almost if like Carter triggered some old memories. She suddenly felt her pocket with her free hand, like she had realized something.

"Wow mister, did you start with a Piplup back then too?" Sam innocently asked. Carter shook his head as he chuckled.

"Nope! We had to choose from three pokemon; a grass type that looked like a frog, a water type that looked like a turtle, and the best one was an orange lizard that was a fire type!" Carter put three fingers up as he listed the starter pokemon. Sam slightly tilted his head as he tried to imagine the starter pokemon.

"They sound kinda lame," Sam said as he imagined the pokemon the way Carter described them. Ryan shook his head in amusement and without thinking, he reached for a keychain on his belt and unclipped a small red and white ball. He tapped Sam's shoulder to get his attention.

"Well, here's the turtle Carter tried describing, Squirtle!" Ryan pressed the button on the ball, which opened it, revealing a small figurine of Squirtle. Sam's eyes instantly widened.

"Wow! Mister, you have a Pokeball? Cool!" Sam remarked as he examined the Squirtle figurine inside of the toy Pokeball. Taylor and Carter looked at Ryan's Pokeball in surprise.

"It's an old keychain I got when I was about your age," Ryan explained as he recalled how he got it. He looked at Carter and Taylor, who seemed to be lost in their thoughts. They couldn't help but grin when they recalled the very first time the three of them played together. The Pokeball was a childhood memento, reminding the three of them of their childhood bliss. Taylor stared off across the plaza and into space as she reflected on those times, until she shook her head and suddenly shouted, "Auntie!"

Ryan, Carter, and Sam turned to see a middle aged woman turned her attention from her phone, to Taylor and waved. "Taylor!" It was Sam's mother! She strode her way to where Taylor and Sam were and began to talk.

"Hey Sammie, did you have fun with Taylor?" Taylor's aunt asked Sam, who nodded. "That's great!" She turned to Taylor. "And thank you for doing this! He really likes your plays," Taylor's aunt thanked her.

"Oh, no problem auntie! It's the least I could do for one of my secret admirers," Taylor said, smiling at Sam, who seemed to blush a little.

"Aww, did you get your older brother Jerry to give that note to Taylor?" Taylor's aunt asked Sam, who blushed heavily and nodded.

"_That explains the note in my locker. Jerry must have put it in there for Sam! Aww..." _Taylor smiled.

"Well, we'd better get going, Jerry's going to throw a fit if I don't get home soon so he can go to his little party," Taylor's aunt told her.

"Okay, see you later!" Taylor said as they waved goodbye and walked away. Carter and Taylor looked at Ryan's Pokeball.

"Uh, I guess I'm the only one who kept mine, huh?" Ryan asked as he chuckled awkwardly. He looked around and saw Carter reaching deep into his pocket and took out a similar Pokeball.

"Nope, you weren't," Carter said as he pushed the button on the front of the toy Pokeball. The top opened to reveal a small figure of an orange lizard standing on it's hind legs, named Charmander.

"Carter, you kept yours?" Taylor asked in slight astonishment. Before Ryan and Carter could ask, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her Pokeball. "Bulbasaur's still here!" Taylor said as she opened her Pokeball to reveal the green frog-like figure. A lighter shaded green bulb graced Bulbasaur's back.

"We all kept our Pokeballs, even after all of these years. Pretty sweet," Carter remarked as he looked at the Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur figures in the toy Pokeballs. "Charmander would still kick your Bulbasaur's butt!" he taunted Taylor, who simply rolled her eyes.

"And Squirtle would still kick your butt!" Ryan said to Carter, who shook his head and replied:

"At least Charizard can fly," Carter pointed out. Ryan rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but Blastoise has cannons on his back. Who's cool enough to carry cannons on their back like that?" Ryan remarked with a smirk. Taylor couldn't help but smirk at the argument.

"You guys sound like kids," Taylor laughed as she recalled something. "Reminds me of when we first met, don't you think?" Everyone closed their Pokeballs and pocketed them away, minus Ryan, who clipped it back onto his belt.

"Yeah, and ever since, we've kinda stuck together like glue," Ryan noted.

"I'm glad we're still best friends, even after all of this time. We've all gone our separate ways, and grown up a bit," Taylor looked at Carter and smirked. "Except for a certain person..."

"Oh, we all know you haven't changed," Carter remarked as he saw an opening. Taylor huffed as she began to argue back. Playful arguing erupted as Ryan stood on the side.

_"These two argue like an old married couple, which they might have to get used to," _Ryan laughed in his head. _"I can't believe Taylor thinks Carter doesn't like her!" _His mind wandered to earlier in the day.

* * *

"_We're finally here," Ryan stretched his arms in the air as he walked along with Taylor and Carter. He was still exhausted from last night's football game against his school's intercity rival. It was a hard earned victory, as his sore muscles constantly reminded him._

"_Is that a band playing up there? Be right back guys!" Carter suddenly walked off towards the band that was set up outside of the amusement park. _

"_Hold on a sec-" Ryan was interrupted by Taylor, who pulled him into a photo booth._ "_Taylor, what gives?" He was confused as to why she just pulled him into the photo booth. _

"_Something up?" Ryan asked as he saw Taylor slightly blush. A small silence passed before Taylor answered._

"_I don't know if I should be saying anything, even to you, but..." Taylor said, slightly frowning._

_"Taylor, if something's up, you can let me know. I mean, we've been friends for a long time! I've known you and Carter longer than I've known my mom. Well, I haven't met my mom yet, but that's not the point," Ryan added in slight humor, causing Taylor to smile._

"_Point is, I know you two like the back of my hand, and something's up. You and Carter have been acting a little odd lately," Ryan noted, causing Taylor's blush to slightly darken. "Anyways, if you ever change your mind, I'm here to listen."_ _He ended smiling at his childhood friend. Ryan turned to leave the photo booth when he felt a tug on his windbreaker's sleeve._

_"Actually, it's about Carter," Taylor started to say as they sat down._

_"Carter? Did something happen?" Ryan asked her._

"_Nothing happened to him," Taylor answered. Ryan thought for a second as he came to a conclusion._

"_You have a crush on Cart-" Ryan began but Taylor quickly shushed him. "He's a little preoccupied with that band out front, and they're playing right now. He's not going to hear this," Ryan said as an electric guitar melody slashed through the air._

"_Please don't tell him!" Taylor pleaded. Ryan looked at her and smiled._

"_Don't worry, I won't," he said reassuringly. "Truth be told, I wondered when you two would get together. What's the big deal?" Ryan asked._

_"Big deal?" Taylor repeated as she seemed astonished at his remark. She sighed and began fishing through her thoughts to explain her feelings._ _"I've felt weird around him for a while now, even before a couple of months ago. I didn't, and still, don't know what this feeling is. All I know is, it's more than a crush, but I don't know what it is. And then I realized, what if he doesn't feel the same way? It would destroy our friendship, and..." _

_"Taylor, this is Carter you're talking about, you've been his best friend for twelve years! He wouldn't turn his back on you, not for a second," Ryan told her. Without thinking, he added: "Besides, he may feel the same way about you." _ _ Taylor's eyes lit up, even though she tried hiding it. "Really?" Ryan __kicked himself mentally. He promised Carter not to say anything! Carter made him pinkie swear when he told Ryan about it._

"_Uh, well... he always turns to you, especially when the fan girls rush him," Ryan quickly covered up his slip up._

_"Yeah, but he knows me," Taylor reasoned._

_"I personally think it's a sign, but I'll leave it up to you," Ryan mysteriously said. He sighed of relief in his head as he narrowly dodged a bullet. He might have even helped them get together without saying anything!_ _A silence followed as Taylor was thinking. "Sounds like the band's wrapping up. We'd better get Carter and have some fun, right?"_

"_Yeah, we'd better get him, otherwise he'll critique that band to death!" Taylor said, causing the two of them to laugh. "Oh, and Ryan,"_ _She reached over and embraced him._ _"Thanks."_

_"Hey, no problem, that's what best friends are for, right?" Ryan said as they broke apart from the hug. _

_"What's wrong?" Ryan asked as he noticed Taylor was looking at his eyes. She shook her head._

_"Nothing, it's just that you're like the big brother I never had," she said as they walked out of the photo booth. _

* * *

"Earth to Ryan, are you there?" Ryan shook his head as he snapped back into reality. Carter and Taylor were both looking at him weirdly.

"Is something wrong? You were smiling while you were spacing out," Carter asked.

"Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about something, that's all," Ryan answered. "Anyways, what are we gonna ride next?" Dumbfounded looks appeared on Carter and Taylor's faces.

"Uh, what I meant to say was something for two people to ride, if you catch my drift. I've had enough of roller coasters for a lifetime," Ryan corrected himself. The dumbfounded looks on Carter and Taylor's faces subsided as they realized Ryan was fine.

"Hmm, I wonder what we should ride?" Taylor asked Carter, who shrugged. "Oh! Maybe the Mine Drop!"

"What's the Mine Drop?" Carter nervously asked. Taylor pretended not to notice the nervousness.

"Well, it's only a 220 feet drop in strapped seats. Nothing you can't handle, right?" Taylor ended in a playful, mocking tone. "Is the big bad rock star scared of falling?" Taylor teased when Carter didn't answer. She looked up and could have sworn she saw a faint light pink blush on Carter, but she dismissed it as wishful thinking.

"No way! I'll ride it with you! B-but don't get too scared, alright?" Carter said to Taylor, who leaned up against him.

"Okay!" Taylor winked. "Let's go then!" Ryan stood on the side and smirked at the whole situation.

"I'll wait here for you guys," Ryan suggested as he took a seat on a stone bench next to the fountain. Taylor and Carter nodded and waved goodbye as they walked off. Carter avoided Taylor's gaze by looking up. He wouldn't admit it, but he was nervous.

Taylor took the time to look back at Ryan and mouthed, _"Thanks!" _Ryan gave a thumbs up and mouthed back:

_"No problem! Good luck!" _Taylor turned back with Carter while Ryan cupped the back of his head, prepared to relax. He suddenly saw Carter put an arm behind his back and gave a thumbs up. Ryan smiled and shook his head.

_"If only they knew!"_ Ryan thought as his friends disappeared from sight. He stared at the few stars that graced the night sky.

* * *

_"Hmm? What's this I feel?"_ An old fortune teller clothed in fortune teller robes felt a sudden pulsing sensation. She turned to her wooden table which lay in the center of her tent. The fortune teller raised her hands over the crystal ball that lay on the table and spoke:

"Aura, what are you trying to tell me? Is the one near?" In response, the crystal ball emanated white light. Within the white light, images shuffled in seconds, too fast for the fortune teller to see. However, one image stopped.

"So, he's the one," The fortune teller looked at the image. It was a teenager with black hair, dimple on his nose, and sapphire blue eyes. She turned away and went to the back room of her tent. An ancient door with an indent in the center had a symbol over it that looked like a Pokeball.

"Arceus, what are you planning?" The fortune teller thought aloud as she peered at the ancient doorway.


	2. A New World Part 2

_"Nothing, it's just you're like the big brother I never had," _Taylor's words echoed in Ryan's head, causing him to smile.

"_Am I really?" _He thought. _"Well, I guess most of the time she's ever been down, I talked with her," _Ryan realized. _"If mom was really like this..." _As he looked at the stars, he recalled something his dad had told him once:

_"You're just like your mother..."_

* * *

"_Hey! Awesome job guys!" Ryan congratulated various soccer players with a high five as they went into his house. Carter was at the end of the line and waited for Ryan._

"_Thanks again for doing this man. I honestly didn't want anything going wrong for Uncle Perry today," Carter told Ryan as they shook hands. Ryan looked a bit confused and then remembered._

"_He's proposing today!" Ryan recalled aloud. "Aren't your parents throwing a party for him to ask her?"_

"_Yeah, a house full of soccer players isn't exactly the best place to propose," Carter remarked. Ryan raised an eyebrow, silently questioning the remark. He shrugged and motioned for Carter to come inside._

"_Well, either way, I'm glad my dad let me help you guys out like this. It's not everyday we beat the Steelheads in an intercity game, even in soccer!" Ryan said as he closed the front door. The usual homely atmosphere of Ryan's house was replaced by a semi chaotic mess. Soccer players were relaxing, eating slices of pizza, and conversing._

"_Yeah, I honestly thought he'd say no," Carter said as he and Ryan went to the kitchen to grab something to eat. "I'm glad you and Taylor showed up to the game, even though it was supposed to rain."_

"_No problem, it's what best friends are for, right? And good thing it didn't," Ryan said, causing the two of them to laugh. Carter looked around the kitchen and peered into the lobby they came from._

"_Where is she, anyways?" Carter asked, curious as to why Taylor wasn't with Ryan. Ryan took a drink of lemonade from his cup and slightly frowned._

"_Well, she's with you know who," Ryan rolled his eyes. Carter knew instantly who Ryan was talking about. Taylor was dating the soccer team's star player, who was loved by the general public. However, known to only a few people, he was a bit of a womanizer, to say the least. He was also snobby to certain people, including his teammates._

"_I wonder what Taylor sees in him anyways? He just seems like me times a thousand," Carter remarked. Ryan raised an eyebrow._

"_Like you times a thousand? He's not like you at all! You aren't snobby, but the wannabe womanizer thing... well, in Taylor's words, he makes you look like a saint," Ryan laughed while Carter shrugged. "Wait. Are you saying..." Ryan added in a singsong voice, "You're in loooooove with her?" Carter glared at Ryan. He didn't want to take the chance of anyone hearing it, even though the background noise from the other conversations masked theirs._

"_No! No I'm not, I'm just concerned about her, that's all!" Carter reasoned. "Don't say anything," he added in a hushed voice, causing Ryan to widen his eyes in surprise. Ryan __pretended to zip his lips, lock it and threw away the key. Suddenly, the background noise dropped to dead silence._

"_Why did it get so quiet all of a sudden?" Carter asked Ryan, who shrugged. They left the kitchen and went to the living room, where a crowd circled around Taylor and her boyfriend, the soccer star. Her face had a heartbroken look on it. She turned and ran out of the room and up the stairs._

"_What happened?" Carter asked the crowd of soccer players, who all kept their mouths shut. They all felt it wasn't their business._

"_I don't believe it's any of your business, Carter," the soccer star said to him. Carter glared angrily at the star and walked up to him, his fists shaking._

"_None of my business? When you break my best friend's heart, it's definitely my damn business!" Carter raged._

"_If that's your idea of a best friend, I'd hate to see an enemy," the soccer star sneered. "Besides... I've got someone much cuter waiting." That was the last straw. Without warning, Carter jumped onto the soccer star and landed a blow on his face. Everyone was stunned._

"_C-Carter!" Ryan ran up to him and grabbed hold of him. He pulled him back, while Carter tried struggling free to land a few more blows to the soccer star. The fact Ryan was a couple heads shorter than him made it a little more difficult for him to restrain Carter._

"_Hey, get him out of here!" Ryan yelled to the watching soccer players. They all nodded and grabbed the soccer star and moved him out. Carter kept struggling and managed to land another blow on the soccer star, causing him to whine like a puppy. The players got the star out of Ryan's house, so Ryan let him go._ _However, Carter started to run out the door, so Ryan jumped in front and blocked it._

_"Calm down man. I want to kick his ass as much as you do," Ryan said to Carter, who was still fuming with rage._

"_Then let me!" Carter angrily said. Ryan shook his head._

"_Beating him up might make __**you**__ feel better, but what about Taylor?" Ryan brought up a good point, causing Carter to think twice. He took a few deep breaths before he settled down and regained his composure. He looked at the stairs with an almost mourning expression._

_"Come on." Ryan pulled Carter with him up the stairs and toward the bathroom where a faint sobbing could be heard. They looked at each other. This wasn't going to be easy._

_"You should go first." Carter motioned to Ryan. He started to shake his head, but a pleading look in Carter's eyes convinced him otherwise._ _"Besides, you're better at this than I am, and I don't wanna make things worse," Carter admitted. Ryan took a long look at him and nodded, for their friend's sake._

_"Okay, but you're coming in later," Ryan entered the restroom, leaving Carter in the hallway. He closed the door and looked at a depressing sight. Taylor was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, with her tears flowing silently. She looked up to see Ryan sit down next to her._

_"H-hey, Ryan," Taylor managed to say through her sobs. Ryan's heart ached as he saw his friend in pain. If he was feeling like this, Carter must be feeling ten times worse, he reasoned. Ryan began to talk._

_"That idiot doesn't deserve you, especially after what he said back there," he said with a serious tone. Taylor grabbed Ryan and pulled him into a hug as she cried into his shirt._

_"I-I'm so s-stupid," she sobbed._

_"No, you're not, trust me. Carter and I have known you for a long time. Sweet and kind, that's you," Ryan began to describe. "Stupid doesn't even begin to describe that jerk that got carried out the door," he said, scowling towards the end at the mentioning of the soccer star._ _A short moment of silence occurred afterward before Taylor's tears started flowing once more onto the sleeve of his T-shirt. "It's okay," he said as Taylor dug her head deeper into his shirt. He rubbed her back, hoping it would help calm his friend down. He let Taylor cry for a few minutes before he continued to talk._

_"Carter would say the same, and then some," he continued. Taylor's eyes widened slightly at the mention of Carter's name. "You know, Carter was about to tear him limb from limb as soon as you ran up here," Ryan said in a 'matter of fact' tone. A look of wonder appeared onto Taylor's face._

_"R-really?" Taylor asked in astonishment as she released her embrace and looked at Ryan's face._

_"Yeah. I held him back, but he managed to land a couple of good punches on him," Ryan smirked._

_"H-he did that?" Taylor was beyond surprised. Carter had never acted like this before._

_"Yep!" Ryan smiled as he realized Taylor wasn't crying._

_"I didn't think he'd do that," Taylor thought aloud, absorbing the thought._

_"I didn't either, but after what just happened, I don't blame him. I probably should have let him beat that jerk to a pulp," Ryan remarked. Taylor chuckled at the comment._

_"You wouldn't want our best friend sitting in a jail cell would you?" Taylor asked._

_"Well... I guess you've got a point," Ryan rubbed the back of his head. He looked at the closed door as they sat silently for a couple of minutes. He suddenly thought about Carter, who was still out there."Hey, I think he may wanna talk to you, considering he's been waiting outside."_

_"Really? Why didn't he come in with you?" Taylor curiously asked._

_"Well, he apparently thinks I've got a knack for comforting people," Ryan explained. "He even said he didn't want to make it worse, which is nonsense."_

_A slight smile appeared on the Taylor's face. "He's right, you do," she agreed as Ryan sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "And he wouldn't make things worse,"_

"_Yeah, I know. He should see for himself, right?" Ryan opened the door. Carter walked in, with a concerned look on his face. Taylor and Carter seemed to be looking at each others eyes for a second with Carter finally asking,_

_"Are you feeling better?" Carter's voice was full of genuine concern._

_"Y-yeah, a little bit," Taylor responded. Ryan took this as his cue to leave Carter alone with her._

_"Maybe he'll be able to cheer her completely up," he thought. "Well, I'm gonna go get some pizza, feel free to join me anytime you two are ready, okay?" Ryan said to Carter and Taylor._

_"Okay," the both of them answered. "Oh, Carter," Ryan whispered into his ear. "She's still really sensitive, so watch what you say! And a little side note... I told her about what you did earlier," he added with a smirk. Carter shot away in disbelief._

_"Later guys!" Ryan left the bathroom, closed the door slowly, and climbed down the stairs. He felt a slight breeze blow towards him, making him realize the front door was open! A man stood in front of the open door, looking at Ryan. He looked like an older version of Ryan, except for his dark brown eyes._

_"That idiot doesn't deserve you?" he remarked._

_"Dad? When did you..." Ryan's dad smiled. He knew what his son was going to ask._

_"I came back a few minutes ago. I saw a kid holding a bruised cheek being dragged by a group of kids out of the house. Is that what you kids call having fun?" Ryan's dad asked._

_"Oh, a-about that," Ryan stuttered. This was an awkward situation. How do you sum up teenage relationship drama to your dad? His dad walked up to Ryan and patted his head._

_"It's alright, I know what happened," he said, surprising Ryan._

_"H-how? Didn't you just get back?" Ryan asked as his dad began to explain himself._

_"Well son, that kid with the bruised cheek is Taylor's boyfriend, right?" Before Ryan could correct his dad, he corrected himself. "I mean, ex-boyfriend. The fact he had a nasty bruise on his face and no Taylor next to him probably meant... well, you know," Ryan nodded as he listened._ _"I came back while Carter was shouting at you to get out of the way and after hearing that, it clicked. The kid dumped Taylor in a horrible way causing her to run off. Carter got mad and wanted to beat the crap out of him but not before you stopped him, and then you guys comforted your friend," his dad finished._ _Ryan's jaw fell in awe. How could someone who couldn't find a TV remote figure out all of this?_

_"Wait, did you ask Carter? You did, didn't you?" Ryan asked, causing his dad to rub the back of his head and nod. They shared a laugh._

_"You're just like your mom, always comforting people," Ryan's dad carelessly thought aloud. Ryan suddenly stopped laughing. His dad stood there, silently cursing himself for thinking aloud again._

"_Did you say mom?" Ryan asked. His dad shook his head, denying the fact he said it._

_Ryan turned away. He never heard a thing about his mother. The only person who seemed to know anything about her was his dad. However he always avoided the subject whenever his son brought it up and instead asked his son about the one thing that always distracted him... his love life. That usually ticked him off to the point of forgetting to ask about his mother. Ryan's dad debated doing this again, but a part of him wanted to share a portion of her memory with his son._

_"Actually," he said as he put a hand on his son's shoulder._ _"I said you're just like your mother. You're always comforting people, giving them encouraging words and a shoulder to cry on," Ryan's ears perked up listening to his words._

_"Mom was like that?" Ryan asked._

_"Yeah, she is," his dad nodded._ _Ryan's dad kicked himself mentally again for being so careless."I meant was!" he quickly said to correct himself._

_"But didn't you say-"_

_"I meant was. Anyways, you should get Carter and Taylor down here to help you finish those pizzas in the kitchen." He turned and raced off into the kitchen, determined not to say anymore._

* * *

"_The way he said it... I'm sure of it!" _Ryan thought, coming out from his reminiscence. Looking up at the night sky, he could see a couple of stars twinkling and gleaming while the clouds moved aside. _"I don't know what dad's hiding, but I know I'll find you, mom... someday."_

"Hey!" An old man waved his hand in front of Ryan's eyes. Ryan snapped out of his thoughts and raised his head as the man continued.

"Are you feeling alright, young man?" The old man asked.

"Oh, yeah. Just a bit tired. You know how teachers are- they always give out too much homework," Ryan quickly remarked, causing the old man to chuckle.

"Well, you were staring up for awhile... Just wondering if you were fine," the old man said.

"I'm fine, don't worry. Thanks for the concern though," Ryan said.

"No problem, sonny." The old man walked off, leaving Ryan to his thoughts.

_"W-well, if I look that bad, maybe I should walk around. Brooding isn't exactly great for my health,"_ Ryan thought as he got up from the stone bench.

"Oh, one more thing!" The old man walked back to Ryan. "If something's on your mind, you could ask the fortune teller over there." He pointed out a hidden pathway that seemed a bit out of the way from the other attractions in the amusement park. "Just walk down that path and past the old restrooms, there's a purple tent with a flag on top. The fortune teller in there is one of the best in the business!"

"Thanks, but I'm not exactly a fan of fortune telling..." Ryan sheepishly rubbed his head at the suggestion.

"Well, it's still worth a shot, considering you were spacing out for a long while. I'll leave it up to you sonny," the old man said as he disappeared from sight again.

Ryan face palmed himself. _"Was it that obvious?"_ He considered the fact he still needed to kill some time for Taylor and Carter, and that it couldn't hurt to get his fortune read._"After all, it'll probably be a good piece of advice," _Ryan laughed in his head as he started venturing down the path the old man had pointed out. Little did Ryan know however, the old man was watching him.

"_I hope she got the message..." t_he old man thought before he walked away.

Ryan reached the end of the pathway and stood in front of the purple tent the old man had told him about. He looked at the flag on top. _"Hmm, that almost looks like a Pokeball. It couldn't be," _Ryan thought, noticing the faded shades of red and white on it, as he carefully opened the flap and slowly walked in. The tent was dimly lit from a single light bulb fixated over a table with a crystal ball. Ryan looked around the tent. There were many knickknacks in the tent, but there was no one in sight.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Ryan called out.

* * *

_"Okay, backpack's packed," _the fortune teller thought to herself as she stuffed various camping equipment into the black backpack. The backpack had two large zipper pockets, which the fortune teller had the pleasure of stuffing.

_"Oh, can't forget to do this."_ The fortune teller put a blue PDA-like object into the backpack and spoke,"Dex, reset code 38104 and shut off until next pokemon appearance." A female robotic voice complied.

CONFIRMED. CLEARING SEEN AND CAPTURED POKEMON ENTRY DATA. SHUTTING DOWN.

"Hello?" A voice called out. The fortune teller jumped in surprise. She got up and shoved the backpack behind a crate. She picked up a glass-like orb from a small box and proceeded to walk through the flap to her tent.

* * *

"Hello, welcome to my tent," The fortune teller's heart jumped as she looked at Ryan. _"It's him!"_ She thought. Ryan looked at the fortune teller, puzzled at her frozen expression.

"A-are you okay?" Ryan asked the fortune teller, who shook out of her frozen expression.

"Of course, young one. I'm assuming you are here for a fortune, yes?" she asked Ryan, who sheepishly rubbed his head.

"I guess, but I'm not exactly a fan of fortune telling. An old man suggested this tent to me, from out of nowhere and I couldn't refuse," Ryan told her. The fortune teller's eyes widened a bit.

_"Hmm, so he's here too... interesting. He might have gotten the message as well," _she thought. "Well, my crystal ball over there on the table is not working properly, so I am looking for another one," the fortune teller pointed at the table with a crystal ball resting on it.

"Oh, th-that's a shame," Ryan hesitantly said. He thanked her for her time and turned to walk out.

"Wait," the fortune teller called out before Ryan could leave. He stopped, wondering what she needed. "Could you help me find my spare crystal ball?" Ryan turned around, seeing the convincing pleading look in the fortune teller's eyes.

_"It __**would**__ give Carter and Taylor some more alone time and I'd have something to do,"_ Ryan thought. "Sure, I don't mind." The fortune teller smirked.

"Splendid! Now come along into the back." She motioned for Ryan to follow her into the back. He walked into the storage-like room, seeing tons of opened crates with weird and obvious unique objects showing. He turned to the fortune teller and was about to ask where to start when he noticed the small orb she held in her right hand.

"Is that one of your spares?" Ryan asked.

"Oh, this? This is an antique I found in one of these crates and I forgot to put it back. Could you hold it for me so I can look for the crate it goes in?" the fortune teller asked.

"Sure," Ryan complied as he cupped his hands together to hold the delicate looking orb.

"And, could you be a dear and lift this pack for me? It seems my grandkid left it here and I cannot find a place to put it at the moment," she added hastily.

"Sure, where is it?" As soon Ryan asked, the fortune teller pulled a pack out from behind a crate. He asked her to hold the orb as he put the pack on. Ryan decided he needed his two hands free to hold the delicate and possibly priceless orb. He put the black backpack on and the fortune teller handed the orb back. Then the fortune teller looked at the ancient doorway in the back.

"Uh... is something wrong?" Ryan asked as he noticed the fortune teller looking at the ancient doorway.

"I think I may have found the perfect place for that orb you are holding. Follow me," she suddenly said, motioning for him to follow her. Ryan silently followed the fortune teller to the ancient doorway she stared at earlier. On closer examination, Ryan found a round opening that was almost as big as the orb he carried. He held the orb next to the hole, finding that it was indeed a perfect fit.

"Is this it?" Ryan asked. The fortune teller nodded in response. She seemed to have a look of glee in her eyes, but Ryan ignored it. _"Okay, here it goes! Please, don't break..."_ With his right hand, he placed the orb in the hole, making sure it was snug.

"There!" Ryan took his hand off of the orb and turned to the fortune teller. "Anything else you need-" A sudden flash of light that came from the orb cut him off. It shone, defining the red on the top and white on the bottom. Then, it started to dissolve! As the final bits of the orb disappeared, the door behind where the orb once was dissolved, which revealed a white shining opening. Ryan was shocked, to say the least.

"Wh-what's going on?" Ryan asked in shock as he looked at the fortune teller who now stood in front of him.

"You shall know soon enough," she said as she shoved Ryan into the white opening.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Ryan said before he began to feel himself plummeting and spinning uncontrollably. The force of the spinning caused Ryan's eyelids to close. It felt like he was being pulled from the inside out! His senses were overwhelmed, causing him to black out.

"May Arceus guide you on your journey!" the fortune teller yelled.


	3. A New World Part 3

The tiny turtle pokemon named Squirtle looked at his surroundings. Rows of seemingly endless trees were all he could see. Sunlight shone down onto the ground through a few clouds in the sky. The white color of the clouds were starting to shift to a mix of orange and purple, meaning the sun was beginning to set. Squirtle knew he had to find a way out of the forest soon, considering he had been lost for nearly a week. Time was running out.

_"We've managed to survive on the Oran berries we found a few days ago, but we just ate the last of them," _Squirtle thought as he looked around. The forest was like an endless maze!

_"I should see if they have any ideas," _Squirtle thought as he called out to his two companions lagging behind him.A light brown cat-like creature, named Eevee, ran up towards Squirtle.

_"Do you guys have any ideas on how to get out of this forest?" _Squirtle asked as Eevee shook his head.

_"Wish I did... Little sis, do you have any ideas?" _The older Eevee asked his younger sibling. An unexpected silence answered him. He turned to the spot where his little sister was a moment ago. She had disappeared!

_"Where are you?"_

There was no answer, to Squirtle and Eevee's horror. Eevee knew his sister was hyper and playful and always let her curiosity get the better of her, but she had always stayed within his sight. Squirtle joined Eevee in calling out for his missing sister when a young voice called out,

_"Guys! Come quick!"_

Eevee's little sister frantically ran out from the bushes as Squirtle and Eevee sighed with relief. She wasn't kidnapped after all, they thought in relief.

_"There you are! You had us worried!"_ Squirtle said in a scolding tone.

_"Where were you?" _Eevee asked his little sibling. Eevee's little sister was frantically jumping up and down as Squirtle began lecturing her about how dangerous it was every time she ran off and the possibility of her getting kidnapped. Eevee did nothing to stop the lecture, which annoyed her to the point of having to shout at the top of her lungs:

_"LISTEN TO ME- THERE'S A HUMAN HERE!"_ Her voice echoed through the forest, causing a flock of bird pokemon to flock off. Squirtle stopped his lecture in stunned silence as her words sunk in. Eevee shared Squirtle's shock, but quickly rebounded.

_"Maybe we can get some food from the human! Or even find our way out!" _Eevee thought aloud. Hope suddenly filled his half empty stomach while Squirtle gave a rejecting look. Humans weren't to be trusted, Squirtle thought, especially a specific one.

_"He's over here, come on!" _She ran back through the bushes as her older brother followed. Squirtle shouted an objection that failed to reach the two Eevee's ears. He hesitated for a slight second before he reluctantly tore through the bushes to follow them. It wasn't too far before Squirtle saw the Eevees slow to a stop before something laying in the middle of a was a young human, Squirtle noted, as he cautiously followed behind the Eevees.

_"Hey... he's asleep!" _Eevee noticed as he began to sniff around the body. Probably for the best, Squirtle thought as he began examining the human body from a slight distance.

_"I found him like this!" _Eevee's sister told her brother._"Come on, help me wake him up!" _she said, leaning into the human's face. Her tongue popped out as she leaned in, but she withdrew as Squirtle suddenly said loudly:

_"Don't do that! He could be working for him!" _Eevee's sister looked at her brother while he finished sniffing. He looked like he had a differing opinion.

_"He doesn't look or smell like it,"_ Eevee noted, siding with his sister. _"He might even be a trainer!" _he added as he saw a lone Pokeball hanging on his belt. It kind of looked odd for a Pokeball, almost toylike, but Eevee kept that thought to himself.

_"But that's how he nearly got us the last time! I think we should just leave him here and keep moving," _Squirtle said. He wasn't going to take anymore chances. There's a chance the human could possibly help them out, even save them from their hunger... but a chance was all it was.

_"No, he might know the way out!" _Eevee's sister instantly retorted.

_"How would he? He's asleep on the ground in the middle of nowhere!" _Squirtle pointed out. He knew he had won the argument as he turned away from the limp figure. Silence following his finishing blow confirmed his victory.

_"Come on, let's g-" _Squirtle had already turned to leave, but suddenly stopped in his tracks when a growing noise started emerging. It sounded like laughing, but it didn't sound like either one of the Eevee siblings. He knew it wasn't him, unless he was going mad from near starvation... Squirtle jolted back around.

_"STOP!" _

* * *

_"Who's bright idea was it to invent homework?" Ryan sighed as he thumbed through a thick mathematics textbook. _

_"And why is there so much of it?" _

_Ryan blankly stared at the large stacks of various textbooks. They stood, stack by stack, around his room, all of which looked like they could bore even a scholar to death. He shook his head as he flipped to a random page in his textbook._

_"Is this really a math textbook?" Ryan thought as he tried deciphering the scattered scribble marks on the page he was on. Now that he was thinking about it- why was he doing his math homework? Before he could think anymore about that, a sudden knock drew his attention to the doorway. His dad stood there, leaning against the siding._

_"Huh? What's up dad?"_

_"Your mom's home," he nonchalantly said. Ryan's heart leapt as he dropped the textbook he was holding._

_It felt like he didn't need to ask where she was. His legs shot him past his dad, down the stairs and into the living room, where he could see a sitting figure facing away from him. _

_"M-mom?"_

_"Son, close your eyes,"Ryan heard his mom tell him. He hesitated for a slight second before he obeyed and shut his eyes. For some odd reason, the voice felt familiar, yet... _

_Anxiety gripped Ryan as he heard gentle footsteps approach him. It sounded like she was stepping through dirt and gravel, but they were in a house. Houses didn't have dirt and gravel flooring! __Ryan began to think, until he felt something on his cheek. Was his mother kissing him on the cheek? If it was, it was a slobbery and weird way of doing it, he thought._

_"Okay, this is getting really weird..." Ryan said as he tried opening his eyes. His eyelids felt like they were glued shut!_ _Why was this happening, he thought in rising panic. His mom was in front of him and for the first time in his entire life, he could finally see what she looked like! He struggled and struggled until a realization hit him._

_"Wait... I was at the amusement park thinking about this!" There was no denying it- he remembered waiting idly by while Carter and Taylor went somewhere. Ryan's heart sank as he felt his eyelids beginning to lift up._

* * *

A veil of grogginess shadowed Ryan's heavy eyes as he opened them. They threatened to close shut again. The temptation to let them close was overwhelming, until he felt a tickling sensation on his cheek. Ryan turned his head and saw a light brown cat-like creature with a white fur ring around its neck was in his face with its tongue out next to his cheek.

_"No way."_

Ryan slowly rose to a sitting position, looking at the creature that had licked his face. Another creature that looked exactly the same sat next to it, examining him with a curious look. Ryan curiously stared back at them, trying to find a reasonable explanation for the creatures. Was it possible he was still asleep? There was one way to find out...

"Ow!" he exclaimed as he pinched himself. The pain answered his question, while the sudden cry made the creatures jump.

"S-sorry! I was wondering if I was still asleep," Ryan apologized, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. The creatures looked at each other in mirrored confused looks.

"I guess that means I'm seeing... living, breathing pokemon," Ryan thought aloud, letting his mind absorb the realization. Though a bit confused by Ryan's aloud thought, one of the creatures looked behind them and said:

_"He's awake!"_

A familiar sight met Ryan's eyes as he looked at a blue tiny turtle was standing on its hind legs a few feet away. He knew what it was. Instantly. He also knew what the two creatures running up to Squirtle were... Eevees.

POKEMON SIGHTING CONFIRMED. ACTIVATING POKEDEX FUNCTION.

"Where did that come from?" Ryan turned his head around to find the source of the voice. He started to get his bearings of the surroundings.

_"Nothing in this small clearing could've made that noise... unless it's coming from the backpack!"_

Quickly, Ryan took the pack off and rummaged through it. He found a blue gameboy like object on top of other things and took it out. It flipped open to reveal a black control pad and dual screens. Ryan instantly realized what the object was as he looked at the picture on the top screen.

_"Kinda looks a bit different than what I remember seeing... Then again, no mistaking this picture of Squirtle on the top screen."_

SQUIRTLE: THE TINY TURTLE POKEMON. IT SHELTERS ITSELF IN ITS SHELL THEN STRIKES BACK WITH SPOUTS OF WATER AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY.

_"And lets see what the Pokedex has to say about Eevee,"_ he noted before a picture of Eevee replaced Squirtle's picture and started talking in a female, robotic, scholarly voice.

EEVEE: THE EVOLUTION POKEMON. A RARE POKEMON THAT ADAPTS TO HARSH ENVIRONMENTS BY TAKING ON DIFFERENT EVOLUTIONARY FORMS.

Ryan closed the Pokedex, put it back in the pack, and put the pack on his back once again. He crouched down in front of the two Eevee, who had approached Ryan. The jet black haired teen raised his hand to pet them, but...

Squirtle ran up between Ryan and the two Eevee, stopping him. An agitated look appeared on the tiny turtle's face.

"Whoa, whoa. Easy there..." Ryan raised his hands in defense as Squirtle stood there, staring at him. The Eevee that Ryan was about to pet was startled at Squirtle's behavior.

"_What are you doing?"_

She gently pushed Squirtle to the side and bowed her head down in front of Ryan, giving a solid sign that she wanted to be pet. The teen obliged and gently petted Eevee. Her fur felt extremely soft, Ryan noted.

"You know, Eevees are cute up close..." Ryan thought aloud. Eevee's ear twitched in response. She looked up to Ryan's face and jumped into him, happily licking his cheek again. Laughing from the tickling feeling, he begged, "T-that tickles! Could you please stop?"

Eevee stopped licking his cheek and hopped down to the ground, looking at her brother and then Squirtle, who had crossed his arms in annoyance.

"_Told you! He even said please!"_

Ryan was looking at the conversing pokemon, wondering what they were saying. As they wandered a bit away, he turned his head to look at his surroundings again.

_"Huh, now that I think about it, where am I? This definitely doesn't look like the amusement park..."_

He looked around. Judging from the amount of shrubs, bushes and trees, it looked like he was in a forest, Ryan reasoned. How did he get here, he started to wonder, until he noticed another thing:

_"The sun's setting- wait. It was nighttime a few minutes ago! How long was I out for?" _Ryan pondered for a moment as he drew his phone out from his pocket and started dialing a number. _"Hope Carter and Taylor pick up..."_

**_Sorry, no reception is currently available._**

Ryan sighed and pocketed his cellphone. What did that crazy fortune teller do to him? And what did she say before he blacked out? Whatever it was, Ryan decided to think about it later. For now, he had to see what was in the backpack he was carrying. As he dumped the contents out onto the ground, he felt a little guilty emptying a little kid's backpack.

After finally sorting through the objects on the ground, Ryan found; a sleeping bag, a canteen full of water, a box of granola bars, rope, a flashlight, a compass, the Pokedex from earlier, and a little notebook with a pen in the spirals of the notebook. Odd stuff for a kid to have, Ryan noted.

_"Okay, food and water are taken care of for now. Now I gotta pack all of this up again."_

Tediously, Ryan carefully stuffed most of the contents of the backpack back in, leaving the box of granola bars out. He was starting to get hungry. As he tore open the package and took a bar out, he caught wind of the silence around him. It wasn't that silent when he unpacked, he thought.

He turned to the spot where the pokemon were conversing earlier. The Eevee were staring, wide eyed at him. More specifically, they were staring at the substance in his hand- the granola bars.

"Hey... are you guys hungry?" Ryan asked as he noticed the Eevees coming closer to him. A pair of growling stomachs answered his question as Ryan opened two more granola bars. He couldn't help but laugh in his head as he gave the two Eevee a granola bar each. It reminded him of how hungry Carter could look at times...

_"Wow, they could put Carter to shame, the way they're eating..." _Ryan laughed in his head. He emptied the granola box, except for a single bar. Ryan invited the Eevee to eat as much as they would like as he wandered over to where a lonely looking Squirtle stubbornly stood.

"Squirtle, I've got something for you!"

Ryan held the granola bar in front of Squirtle, who looked at it for a split second. He turned away. He didn't want any help from a strange human. His stomach, however, protested otherwise.

"I know you've gotta be hungry like your friends," Ryan said, pointing towards the two Eevee wolfing down the rest of the granola bars. "Come on... you know you want it!" Ryan continued coaxing Squirtle. It was no use.

"Okay then, I'll just leave it here..."

Ryan placed the wrapped bar on the ground next to Squirtle and went back to finish packing the last of the supplies. The Eevee decimated the remaining granola bars, leaving only a box and wrappers behind. They laid down on the ground, quietly cooing in content. It had been while since their stomachs were full.

_"I wonder if Squirtle took the bar..." _He turned to where Squirtle was a minute ago. Ryan quietly laughed to himself as he saw an open wrapper laying on the ground with Squirtle facing away from him. He swung his backpack onto his back and decided to get going. Only problem was... where exactly could he go? Ryan walked over to the Eevee and asked:

"Do you guys know the way out of this forest?" They both looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Oh well, that's alright then." Ryan walked towards the edge of the small clearing. "I gotta go find my friends now, take care!" He waved goodbye to the pokemon and began his walk through the clearing.

_"Wait!"_

Ryan turned his head to see one of the Eevee running towards him. Eevee stopped next to Ryan's legs and started rubbing it's head against them.

"Huh? You guys wanna come with me?" Eevee nodded her head up and down. Then the other Eevee ran up to him and rubbed his other leg. Ryan walked up to Squirtle, who was prepared to run away as Ryan dug something out of his pocket. Squirtle came to halt as he saw what Ryan held in his hands.

"Do you want to come along too?"

He was holding out another granola bar. Squirtle quietly looked at the bar then at Ryan. He remembered last time... when he didn't have a choice. Maybe, just maybe... this human was different. It couldn't hurt, when it was the difference between being fed or starving. Squirtle put its hand on the bar and nodded.

Ryan smiled and nodded to Squirtle, while he felt both of the Eevee suddenly climb onto his shoulders. They felt heavier than they looked, he thought.

"Well, I have no clue where to go, but... lets get going guys!"


	4. A New World Part 4

"Yikes... it feels like we've been walking in circles!" Ryan said, scratching the back of his head while the Eevee siblings cried out in agreement. Stifling a yawn, Ryan tried peering around the forest for a clear way out. Perhaps wandering aimlessly wasn't the best idea, he thought as he noticed the sun was barely in the sky. The air also started to feel slightly colder.

"Maybe we should take a quick break," Ryan suggested to the pokemon. As he turned to look for Squirtle's response, he noticed that the tiny turtle pokemon had already taken the initiative and was already relaxing against a nearby tree.

"_Well, Squirtle's got the right idea..." _Ryan thought as he went over to the save tree and sat down. The Eevee leapt off of his shoulders and started to stretch their legs. They were laying on there for a long time, almost an hour! Regardless, they still had energy to burn, judging from their hyper jumping.

"Um... you guys can play for a bit while we're relaxing, if that's alright," Ryan suggested to the playful duo. Within a split second later, the siblings ran off into the forest, with one sibling chasing the other. Ryan chuckled a bit before turning to Squirtle.

"Hey Squirtle, think they'll be alright?"

Squirtle silently nodded as he turned his body away from Ryan and closed his eyes to take a short nap. Slowly, Squirtle started to withdraw into his shell as he fell asleep. Ryan shrugged as he closed his eyes and slowly drifted into slumber. Squirtle knew them better than he did, so he didn't need to worry, he thought.

* * *

_"I'm gonna get you!"_ Eevee's sister said as she jumped at her brother.

_"I don't think so sis!"_ Eevee said with a smirk as he dodged his sister at the last minute and took off running.

Eevee's sister was "it" this time, in their game of tag. Tag was almost a daily occurrence for them, since Squirtle took frequent breaks during their travels; even though they had energy to spare. It was a few minutes of blissful, fun playtime to get away from their daily troubles. And as an unexpected side effect, the Eevee siblings have gotten quicker with each game of tag! The brother was always the quicker of the two and was able to outrun his sister, but this time...

"Yay! I'm catching up!"

The brother looked back in surprise; his sister was only a couple of feet behind him! The gap between them was shrinking, inch by inch!

_"What! I left her in the dust yesterday... I'd better think of something, or she's really going to get me!"_ Eevee thought while looking back at his sister, who was less than a foot away from tagging him!

_"Hah! I got'cha this time!" _The sister said, smirking, as she was inches away from diving at her brother. It was all or nothing, as she finally dove at him! Time seemed to slow down slightly as Eevee looked at his sister coming at him. He wasn't quick enough to get out of this one! Unless...

"_Tag! You're it!" _The sister declared as she grabbed her brother- or rather, where he used to be. She looked to the side as she fell forward. Her brother was sitting on the side, returning her earlier smirk!She blinked a couple of times, taking in what had just happened. He was about to be it and then he suddenly appeared on the side, she thought.

_"H-hey, no fair! You used Quick Attack!"_ the Eevee sister realized in annoyance as she recovered from her fall.

_"It's fair... we never made any rules for tag!"_ The brother managed to say his thoughts as they were occurring. He was hoping he was right, but his sister shook her head.

_"Nuh-uh! You said no attacks, remember?"_

_"I-I did?" _The brother stumbled at his mistaken memory. It was no use trying to get out of this one now, he thought.

_"Yeah! Besides, I don't even know how to use Quick Attack yet! No fair-" _

A sudden delicious aroma filled the air and both of the Eevee siblings' noses, making their mouths water. It... it smelled like cooking food! The brother had caught his break, as the both of them were now taken with the delicious food scent. They started sniffing the air, trying to pinpoint where the smell was coming from.

"_Hey, brother, let's go find some food!"_ The sister said as she leapt through the bushes to follow the aroma's trail before her brother could tell her to wait. The brother quickly followed through the bush his sister had gone through, but she had vanished!

_"Hey, sis! Where are you?"_ He yelled as he looked around. There was nothing but a mini clearing with more trees and bushes surrounding it. The brother did the equivalent of a facepalm as he began to sniff the smell's trail. Knowing his sister, she'd be there at the end, especially if it involved food or flowers, he thought. As he followed through another line of bushes where the scent led him, he ran into something unexpected.

_"Hey, Piplup, where are you? Dawn's looking for you!"_ A yellow mouse with red circles on its cheeks called out. As Eevee emerged from the line of bushes, the mouse looked at him and ran up to him.

"_Hey, excuse me, but have you seen a Piplup hiding around here? He's about my size, blue... and a bit clumsy?"_ The mouse, named Pikachu, asked Eevee.

_"Oh! Uh... I haven't seen him. Sorry... did he get lost playing hide n' seek?" _Eevee curiously asked.

_"Well, not exactly... It's kinda complicated, but the short story is that he's hiding from Draco Meteor,"_ Pikachu said with a sigh.

"_What's Draco Meteor? It sounds... weird,"_ Eevee thought as he tried imagining what Draco Meteor was supposed to be.

_"It's an attack that's supposed to cause a bunch of meteors to fall from the sky when the user shoots one into the air,"_ Pikachu explained.

"_Oh... then Piplup's running from another pokemon who's using Draco Meteor on him?"_ Eevee asked. He started to feel sorry for Piplup, and couldn't blame him for hiding from a scary sounding attack.

"_Oh, no! Gible wouldn't attack him like that on purpose, it's just... Draco Meteor always hits him, even if Gible's aiming in the opposite direction. It's... odd."_ Pikachu scratched his head as he defended Draco Meteor's user.

"_Gible?"_ Eevee had no clue what a Gible even looked like. Pikachu noticed as Eevee unknowingly tilted his head, trying to imagine what Gible was. Pikachu started miming Gible's appearance, drawing back his arms, kneeling slightly to mimic Gible's short, stubby appearance. His ears also came together.

"_He looks somewhat like this,"_ Pikachu explained before he stood back up. While Eevee was picturing Gible in his head, Pikachu looked up and suddenly gasped. A sphere of energy was hovering in the air for a split second... before it dropped down into the forest like a guided missile!

* * *

_"Mmm... It's not food, but it smells just as nice!"_ Eevee thought as she continued to take in the smell of the flower next to her. While she was in pursuit of the delicious scent, another one suddenly caught her attention and guided her into a small clearing of beautiful, in bloom flowers. The flowers' nostalgic power on Eevee made a smile creep onto her face as she was reminded of simpler times.

"_Mama..."_ Eevee's thoughts started to wander, but not before a sudden explosive noise shook her from them.

_"OW!"_

The ground rumbled under Eevee as she turned to see what the cause was. A blue penguin-like pokemon, named Piplup, was on the ground, twitching and clutching the top of his head. She ran over to the fallen blue penguin.

_"H-hey, are you okay?"_ Eevee managed to ask, through her dazed state. Piplup failed to notice Eevee as his anger and pain blinded him.

_"Why is it always me, Gible? Why!" _Built up frustration was evident as Piplup ranted out loud. Piplup's angry rant continued as Eevee, the onlooker, quietly sat through it. Without knowing, she had tilted her head in confusion as she wondered who "Gible" and "Dawn" were, and what "Draco Meteor" was. It felt like hours had passed before Piplup stopped mid sentence, realizing Eevee was sitting next to him,

"_Oh! W-were you there the entire time?"_ Piplup asked through his burning scarlet cheeks. Eevee nodded as she contained a chuckle while PIplup rose to his feet with a tattered explanation of his rant:

"_I-I-I just fell, that's all!"_ Piplup put his wings against his hips, making a proud stance. It masked most of his embarrassment, minus the hue of red on his face and the bump on the top of his head.

"_I don't know... that looks like a nasty bump on your head! And it sounded pretty loud!" _Eevee noted as she looked at Piplup's head. Looking around Piplup, she noticed steam coming off of a small rock on the ground.

"_Are you sure this didn't fall from the sky and hit you or something?"_ Eevee asked, not knowing the truth of what she had just asked. Piplup stood with a blank face.

"_...Well, actually... yeah,"_ Piplup said, cheekily rubbing the back of his head. There wasn't really any way to hide it any longer, Piplup reasoned.

"_Haha! I knew it! By the way, who are you? I'm Eevee!"_ Eevee said. Before Piplup could introduce himself, a familiar yellow mouse popped out from the bushes nearby and ran up towards them, calling out Piplup's name.

_"Hey, Pikachu!"_ Piplup said while waving to his friend. Pikachu's eyes caught the bump on Piplup's head, and the small rock nearby.

_"Draco Meteor hit you again, didn't it?"_ Pikachu asked Piplup, who nodded ruefully.

_"Were you out here smelling flowers again?" _Pikachu asked, grinning.

Piplup looked like he was taken aback. _"H-How did you know?"_

_"You have pollen on your beak,"_ Pikachu pointed out. Piplup wasted no time in removing the pollen. Eevee couldn't help but laugh, catching Pikachu's attention. He began to introduce himself to Eevee.

"_Hey there! My name's Pikachu! Is your brother looking for you by any chance?"_

_"I'm Eevee! And... I think so," _Eevee said as she gulped, realizing she had left her brother behind when she dove after the aromas from earlier.

_"Because he's looking for you, and I think he was following behind me,"_ Pikachu pointed in the direction he came from. Almost as if on cue, the brother leapt through the bushes.

_"Sis! There you are!"_ The brother exclaimed with relief as he approached the small huddle. Eevee felt her ears drooping as tangs of guilt started aching.

_"So-Sorry brother..." _

_"Hey, as long as you're alright, its fine! Although you could do something about that hyperness of yours,"_ Eevee remarked with a smirk. The sister felt her watering eyes drying as she glared at him.

_"Hmph! At least I don't jump up and down like a Charmander with it's fire out when I see the mo-" _

Eevee stopped his sister in a frenzied panic before she could finish and turned to Piplup, lowering his head a bit. _"Thanks for finding my sis!"_

_"No problem! It's what I do. And it's Piplup,"_ Piplup introduced as he put his wings at his waist. Pikachu couldn't help but grin a little at the proud penguin's comment.

_"That's not all you do...?"_ Pikachu nudged Piplup.

_"W-What do you mean, Pikachu?"_

_"Remember... oh, I don't know, Rotom? Or Rhypherior? Yeah, I remember what you told me!"_ Pikachu finished with a chuckle.

Piplup backed up in his trademarked dramatic shocked pose with his wings up. The memories flooded back to Piplup instantly. He had tried to shake Rotom's hand as a sign of forgiveness back in the Old Chateau, but got shocked in a hilarious manner and when he tried to go back to Sandgem Town alone... he shuddered. It was like he was the world's punching bag!

_"I don't know why I thought Dawn would be behind that bush..."_ Piplup thought, stuck in his shocked pose. He eventually shook it off and turned to the Eevee siblings to ask them a question.

_"Anyways, what brings you two to Sinnoh? I didn't know any Eevee lived here!"_

The Eevee siblings looked at each other. They knew exactly how and why they were here, but they weren't comfortable telling anyone yet. Maybe they didn't have to give all of the details... just recent ones, they thought.

_"Well, me, my sis, and Squirtle met this human a little while ago and we're trying to find a way out of this forest,"_ Eevee explained.

_"Really? How did you meet him?" _Pikachu asked. Eevee explained everything that had occurred within the past hours. He mentioned the fact the human looked like a trainer, but he acted like he had never seen a living pokemon before! When Eevee finished, Pikachu suggested:

_"Maybe you could get the trainer to come with us to our camp! I'm sure Brock wouldn't mind at all!"_

_"That's a great idea! But... who's Brock?"_ Eevee asked.

_"He's one of my trainer's best friends and he's a really great cook! Once you try some of his food, there's no going back!"_ Pikachu explained. _"Also, our trainers know where they're going: Sunyshore City! If you guys tag along, you won't be lost anymore!"_

The Eevees' faces lit up with happiness with the great news. The light at the end of the tunnel was finally shining!

_"Yay! We gotta go tell Squirtle and him about it!"_ The sister said, jumping in excitement. Before Eevee could stop her, she ran off again, leaving a sweat dropping Eevee.

_"I-I'll go and get them and meet you guys later,"_ the brother said to Pikachu and Piplup.

_"Okay, we'll be waiting back at our camp. See ya!"_ Pikachu waved goodbye to Eevee as he ran off to follow his hyper sister. When Eevee disappeared into the forest, Pikachu turned to Piplup.

_"By the way Piplup, Dawn has been looking for you!"_

_"R-Really?"_ Piplup asked.

_"Yeah, she thought up of a new combination for the Grand Festival... and she's been waiting for awhile now."_

A panicked look shot onto Piplup's face as he dashed into the bushes and began racing back to the campsite. He couldn't leave his trainer hanging like that! A sweat dropping Pikachu sighed and shrugged as he looked around the flower filled area. Who would hide from a meteor in a field of flowers? Sometimes, Piplup was, for a lack of words... Piplup.

* * *

_"Huh, I wonder where Pikachu went off to..."_

A boy with messy jet black hair, named Ash, looked around the camp he and his friends had set up. His Pikachu was nowhere in sight as he scanned around the area. Gible stared blankly into space as it stood next to Ash.

"Hey Gible, why don't ya go eat dinner? I gotta go look for Pikachu," Ash said. Gible nodded before it walked over to the picnic blanket, where a group of various pokemon of different shapes and sizes sat and conversed while they ate. Ash began to walk towards the edge of the campsite, but he was stopped at the sound of his name. A girl with a white beanie over her long blue hair came out from her tent and went over to Ash.

"Hey Dawn, what's up?" Ash asked her.

"Have you seen Piplup? I wanted to try a new combination for the Grand Festival, but I haven't seen him lately!" Dawn said as she crossed her arms.

"Piplup's gone?" Ash asked in slight shock. "Pikachu's missing too!"

"You don't think..." Dawn trailed off as she and Ash started thinking of what possibly happened. Specifically, their thoughts turned to a trio of thieves that constantly followed them; consisting of a purple haired guy, a redheaded lady, and a talking pokemon.

"Nah, they blasted off pretty far away the other day..." Ash recalled.

"Well, I guess... but then where's Piplup and Pikachu?" Dawn wondered. Ash shrugged as he said a suggestion.

"I was about to go looking for Pikachu, wanna come along?"

"Yeah, of course," Dawn nodded. Before the two of them could begin their search, their third companion, Brock, suddenly yelled:

"Hold on a sec! Where are you guys going?"

"No need to worry! We'll be back soon!" Dawn yelled back as she and Ash disappeared into the forest, with Brock worriedly shaking his head.

_"No need to worry? That's when everybody worries the most..."_ Brock thought, turning his attention back to the boiling pot of stew.

* * *

A pair of arms reached for the sky as Ryan gave a refreshing yawn, waking up from his short slumber of a nap. _"Ah, that was refreshing! Still a bit tired, but I'll take it." _

Taking a moment to look around, he noticed the sky was darker than he saw it last. The once plentiful orange hue that overtook the sunset sky was slowly vanishing, making way for the night sky. He could feel the chill of the night starting to grow as he looked around the forest.

_"Where did the Eevee go?" _Ryan jumped up from his resting spot and looked at where Squirtle was before. Squirtle was still asleep.

_"I'd better see if they're anywhere nearby..."_ Ryan put his pack on and was about to run off to find the Eevee, but he remembered about Squirtle.

_"Wait, I can't just leave Squirtle here! Then again, I probably won't get the happiest response from it if I wake it up from 'LaLa' land..."_ The teen pondered on what to do for a brief moment before a solution came to him, causing him to snap his fingers.

_"I got it! I'll just put Squirtle in here,"_ Ryan thought as he dropped his backpack and opened it to shift some stuff around, leaving a small void of empty space in the center. He took the Pokedex out and stuffed it in his jeans' pocket. _"I'd better leave this in my pocket, just in case... now for the hard part."_

The teen left the pack open as he crept over to Squirtle. He made no sudden movements as he slowly picked Squirtle up and gently placed him in his backpack. Squirtle's head stuck out from the pack, but Ryan didn't mind as he carefully swung the backpack onto his back.

_"Well... that takes care of one small problem. Time to go find-" _

Squirtle was drowsily shifting around in Ryan's backpack, interrupting his thoughts as he suddenly froze in place. After a brief period of panic, Ryan started moving again, testing to see if his movements would _really _wake the pokemon up. He slowly jogged in place, slightly mimicking the backpack's actual movements. Squirtle remained fast asleep. Ryan sighed as he finally began his search of the Eevee, walking into the forest.

* * *

"Wait... is that Mount Coronet?" Pikachu said as he saw the range of mountains in the distance. Mount Coronet stretched far across the horizon, which separated Sinnoh into an East and West side, Pikachu recalled.

"Now I know we're definitely lost," Pikachu sighed. Ever since he and Piplup parted ways with the Eevee siblings earlier, Pikachu was forced to chase Piplup, who had strayed around the forest, frantically looking for the campsite without a second thought. However, Pikachu had already known how to get back to the campsite from where they originally were. Pikachu eventually caught up to the penguin pokemon and calmed him down, but thanks to that, Pikachu was lost as well!

"Hey, let's try this way!" Piplup suggested. Pikachu sighed as he figured they couldn't get any more lost, so why not? The two pokemon set off in the direction Piplup pointed. Thanks to the growing darkness, they failed to notice a trio that lurked in the bushes nearby, peering at them. Two people were wearing white uniforms with red R's on the front and with them was a cat with a charm on its forehead.

"Say... weren't those the twerp's Pikachu and Piplup?" The purple haired man, named James, asked his accomplices, Jessie and Meowth.

"Yeah, what're they doin' out here?" Meowth confirmed. He and James began speculating before Jessie suddenly struck a fiery pose and glared at them, stopping them in their conversation.

"Never mind that! We're going to finally catch Pikachu and present it to the boss! James, Meowth, let's put Plan Super Ultra Mega Mecha into effect, now!"

"But," James held a wallet upside down, emptying its contents. The air escaped from it, almost like a sigh. "We're kaput from the last robot we used a week ago!" As he stuffed the wallet away, Jessie suddenly roared in frustration, causing him and Meowth to flinch!

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? THE TWERPS' POKEMON ARE RIGHT HERE, RIPE FOR THE TAKING, AND WE'RE GONNA PASS JUST BECAUSE OF AN EMPTY WALLET?"

"Shh! You're gonna let 'dem know we're here!" Meowth warned. His warning fell on deaf ears as Jessie continued her roaring rant.

"DREAM ON! WE'RE GETTING THOSE POKEMON, EVEN IF IT'S THE LAST THING WE DO!"

James and Meowth sighed together as they looked at Pikachu and Piplup walking away. It was beyond a miracle that they failed to hear Jessie's screaming! Either they were going nuts, or Pikachu needed an ear exam, they thought. Jessie could be a bit much at times...

"James, do we still have any nets?" Jessie asked. James nodded as she continued. "Then what are you standing around for? Get them and let's go!" Jessie commanded as she hopped into a hot air balloon basket and began firing it up. A giant Meowth balloon began to inflate, slightly lifting the basket up.

* * *

"Pikachu! Piplup!" Ash and Dawn yelled out into the forest. The two trainers spent the last thirty minutes carefully combing through the forest, looking for their pokemon. Night had completely set in within that time, limiting their vision into the forest.

_"We've been looking for them for a while now... where could they have gone?"_ Dawn thought before being jumped out of her thoughts when Ash suddenly yelled:

"PIKACHU! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, ANSWER ME!" Flocks of nocturnal bird pokemon flew out from the trees, fleeing for another spot away from the sudden noise.

"A-Ash! I'm right next to you!" Dawn said as she nudged Ash's arm. She rubbed her ringing ears. _"I didn't know Ash could yell that loud!"_

"Huh? Oh, sorry Dawn..." Ash began apologizing. "I'm just worried about Pikachu, you know?" Ash explained, feeling a tang of guilt as he noticed Dawn feeling her ears. She stopped and placed a hand on Ash's shoulder.

"It's okay, no need to worry, right? We'll find Pikachu and Piplup for sure!" Dawn reassured him. Ash smiled at the gesture. She really was a great friend, he started to think before a flash in the sky caught his and Dawn's attention. A lightning bolt illuminated the night sky a distance away, acting like a beacon!

"It's Pikachu! He must've heard me!" Ash said, grinning.

"Piplup must be with him too! Come on!" Dawn said as the two of them began to run in the direction of where Pikachu's Thunderbolt shone through the sky.


	5. A New World Part 5

**So, looking back, it looks like I tried a multi perspective approach to this. Was this confusing? Should it have been through one group's "eyes"? A little question, that's all. (Edited Sept. 26th)**

**

* * *

**

**"PIKACHU! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, ANSWER ME!"** A cry rung out throughout the forest. Pikachu's ears perked up as he heard it.

_"It's Ash!"_ Pikachu said to Piplup, who leaned on Pikachu as he caught his breath.

_"I gotta send a signal!" _The electric mouse thought as yellow electricity built up around him. Pikachu was about to use Thunderbolt to answer his trainer, but he forgot one thing- Piplup was leaning on Pikachu!

_"Ahh! Wait a-" _Piplup tried to stop his buddy from frying him.

_"Thunderbolt!" _Pikachu cried as it shot a bolt straight into the sky. The Thunderbolt illuminated the sky with yellow for a few seconds before it disappeared.

_"Okay, I think Ash saw that. Piplup, let's wait here."_ The penguin didn't answer Pikachu.

_"Piplup?" _Pikachu turned around to find Piplup with wide white eyes, stuck in a pose, with smoke coming off of him.

_"Never... do...that...again..." _Piplup wheezed before dropping to the ground with his feet twitching. Pikachu scratched its head.

_"Uh... sorry, Piplup..." _After a few seconds, the penguin shook it off and got up.

_"Ugh... anyways, why'd you fry me to a crisp again?"_ Piplup asked.

_"You heard Ash too, right?"_ Pikachu asked Piplup, who nodded. "Then you know why." Piplup thought for a second before he realized-

_"Oh! You were sending a signal!" _Piplup finally realized. He wasn't as experienced as Pikachu, who travelled for a longer time.

_"Yeah. Now we have to wait for Ash here." _Pikachu said, as it took a seat on a tree stump nearby.

_"Okay, I heard you the first time..." _Piplup took a seat next to Pikachu.

* * *

Ryan jumped off of his feet and fell onto the ground when he heard the sudden, loud cry.

"What... was that?" Ryan mumbled as he got up from the ground.

"Squirtle, squirt squirtle?" _(What am I doing here?)_ Squirtle got a rude awakening when the teen crashed to the ground. The pokemon looked at its surroundings in surprise. It was dark with a crescent moon dimly illuminating the sky. Squirtle knew it dozed off a lot longer than it should have. What surprised the pokemon was that he couldn't see his body, only a black pack. He began to wiggle around vigorously. Ryan noticed the movements immediately and set the pack down to let Squirtle out. The pokemon jumped out as soon as Ryan unzipped the pack. Squirtle backed up, preparing to fight the human. He had no idea what the human had done to its friends or where he went while he dozed off.

"Whoa, take it easy Squirtle!" Ryan noticed the defensive stance the pokemon took.

"The Eevee wandered off while we were asleep to play, remember?" The teen said to Squirtle, who wasn't convinced.

_"He probably had other humans take them while he took me..."_

Ryan continued explaining.

"Squirtle, when I woke up, I saw the Eevee had disappeared. I was about to run off to find them, but you were still asleep! So, I put you in my pack so that you'd get some sleep while I looked for the Eevee."

Squirtle was caught a little off guard. No human had ever really cared if he needed time to sleep, especially **HIM**. Squirtle lowered his defensive stance and stared at Ryan.

"Uh... is something wrong, Squirtle?" Squirtle didn't answer, since he was lost in his own thoughts.

"Pikachu!" A yellow bolt of lightning flashed in the night sky, snapping Squirtle out of his thoughts.

_"Someone called out for a Pikachu a while ago, and there's a bolt of lightning..."_ Ryan thought as he saw the bolt.

"Squirtle, wanna go check that out?" The pokemon nodded his head. The two of them started to run, but Squirtle fell behind as Ryan started to run faster. Noticing this, he stopped for a second.

"Hey, Squirtle, you need a ride?" He asked Squirtle.

Squirtle nodded, jumped onto Ryan's shoulders and hung on. He had no idea why he said yes, he still didn't trust this human... only, he did trust the human for some unknown reason to Squirtle. His gut told him to trust the human. Ryan, with Squirtle on his shoulder, ran through the forest, passing tree after tree with no sign of the Eevee anywhere.

"Hey, you think the Eevee saw the lightning too?" Ryan asked the tiny turtle pokemon on his shoulder. Squirtle nodded with a small look of confusion on his face. What was the human trying to say?

"Well, what if they're running towards the lightning like we are?" What the human said made sense to Squirtle.

* * *

_"Aww man, I was sure this was the way back!" _The two Eevee were being led by the hyper sister. Since the two left Pikachu and Piplup, they've tried to find their way back to the human and Squirtle, only to find themselves lost for the umpteenth time. Before they knew it, the sunset turned into nightfall.

_"Let's take a break..." _The brother was exhausted from chasing after his sister and laid down on the ground, where the grass brushed gently against his fur.

_"But I know the way out this time!" _His sister argued, jumping up and down in front of Eevee.

_"That's what you said the last time! And the time before that... and before that..." _His sister stopped jumping.

_"But I'm sure it's this way!"_

_"That's what you said earlier t-" _Eevee was interrupted by a sudden boisterous voice.

**"PIKACHU! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, ANSWER ME!"**

Both of the Eevee jumped from the surprise.

_"Brother, what was..." _Eevee was interrupted by a sudden familiar voice.

_"Thunderbolt!" _A yellow bolt flashed in the sky for a few seconds and then disappeared.

_"That sounded like Pikachu!"_ Both Eevee said aloud.

_"Let's go see what's going on!"_ Eevee got up from the ground he was resting on.

_"I thought you were tired?"_

_"Well, I was, but..."_ His sister looked at him with a sly grin.

_"Anyways, let's go!"_

The Eevee ran into the forest again, hoping to find Pikachu. The brother-sister pair ran side by side, passing bushes and trees full of startled pokemon. They finally approached the small clearing where Pikachu supposedly was, when some strange scents tickled the brother's nose.

_"Hey sis!"_ He stopped in his tracks, which his sister mimicked.

_"What's wrong brother?"_

_"You smell that?" _His sister sniffed the air.

_"No, what?" _Eevee was a bit amazed. He could have sworn she had a sharp nose, especially since she always found flowers no matter where they happened to be.

_"Well, I smell a faint scent of Pikachu... and Piplup too, but I'm picking up three weird scents."_

_"So? It could be the trainers you told me about..." _Eevee shook his head.

_"It can't be them... the smell, seems older."_

_"Huh? Since when could you tell ages from scents?" _The dumbfounded sister asked her brother.

_"I just have a feeling, that's all.."_ The sister shook her head knowingly. Her brother was just as playful as she was, but... he always had his moments.

_"Okay, I guess I'll take your word for it bro!" _Before they turned to run again, the sister added,

_"You know brother, you sure have had some weird moments lately... are you okay? It's almost like you're about to evolve or something..." _A small silence followed as Eevee seemed to reflect upon his sister's words.

_"Sis, I feel fine. I'm just worried about you, that's all..." _The sister nodded, even though she knew there was more. They continued their sprint towards where the Thunderbolt flashed in the sky earlier.

* * *

"Hee-hee!" Three heads popped up from a bush near Pikachu and Piplup.

"Ooh! They're ripe and ready for picking!" James remarked.

"Yeah, what're we doin' here, let's go grab 'em!" The pokemon known as Meowth said.

"Pipe down!" Jessie instantly got their attention. "Now, we all saw that Thunderbolt, right?"  
James and Meowth nodded.

"The twerps must be looking for their precious pokemon right now..."

"But what does that hafta do with-" Meowth started to ask, but Jessie ignored him and went on.

"And they must've seen the Thunderbolt and are headed here right now!"

"Then we'd better capture Pikachu and scram!" Meowth noted. Jessie merely waved her finger in a 'not so fast' kind of way.

"I say we set a trap for all the trouble they've put us through!"

Jessie's two cohorts thought she had gone crazy- crazier than normal, anyways. Here was a chance for a quick and easy Pikachu capture, but all she wanted to do was brag right in front of the twerps!

"Wouldn't it make more sense to take Pikachu and leave with no twerps tailing us for once?" James asked. Unfortunately, Jessie didn't take the question too well.

**"SHUT UP!" **She roared. Her head seemed to grow in size and fire was seen in her eyes. James and Meowth huddled together in fear. Seeing that,

"No questions? Good. I say we dig a bunch of holes around there..."

* * *

_"I wonder if Ash got lost again..." _Pikachu thought aloud. A couple of minutes passed since he launched a Thunderbolt into the sky, giving his location away.

_"No, don't be silly Pikachu! If Dawn's with him, he couldn't be lost!" _Pikachu sheepishly rubbed his cheek. He didn't want to say it, but... sometimes Dawn was the reason he was lost.

_"Well, you're right..."_

_"I know I am." _Piplup put his wings proudly to his waist. _"Hey, is that them?" _He got off of the stump and ran towards a noise behind some bushes.

_"Dawn, Dawn, Dawn!" _Piplup repeated as he ran.

_"Wait, Piplup!" _Pikachu started to run, but a metallic noise made him stop.

_"Huh?" _That was all Pikachu could say before a small cage dropped and slammed shut on him.

_"Piplup!" _The proud penguin turned to his trapped friend.

_"Pikachu? What's-" _Another small cage dropped on the penguin and captured him.

"Gotcha!"

Piplup and Pikachu looked up in the sky at a Meowth hot air balloon and loathed the sight of three familiar faces.

* * *

"Look! Over there, it's Team Rocket!" Dawn pointed out towards Meowth balloon in the distance. Ash and Dawn were still running towards where Pikachu shot a Thunderbolt into the air earlier.

"Pikachu! We gotta hurry!" Ash started gaining speed rapidly.

Dawn tried to keep up with Ash, but he was just too fast.

"Ash! Wait up!" Dawn cried out.

Ash, with Dawn trailing behind, was catching up to where the hovering balloon was. However, unknown to the young trainers, Team Rocket had something in store for them...

"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried out from the cage it was in to its trainer.

"Piplup, piplup!" Piplup reached a wing out between his cage for his trainer.

Ash looked ahead of where he was running and saw two small cages with Pikachu and Piplup trapped.

"Pikachu! Don't worry, I'll get'cha outta-" Before Ash could finish his sentence, the ground below him collapsed, sending him falling.

"Ash!" Dawn stopped in front of the pit. "Are you alright?"

Ash had landed at the bottom of the pit.

"Yeah, I'm okay!" He told the blunette. "Get Pikachu and Piplup outta those cages!"

Dawn turned to look at the two cages. Pikachu and Piplup wore worried looks on their faces. Turning back to her friend at the bottom of the pit,

"But what about you?"

"I'll be fine!"

Dawn had second thoughts about leaving Ash down there, but he had been in tougher situations before... or so he had told her. She got up and ran towards the pokemon trapped in the cages when Pikachu shouted and shook his head.

"Pika! Pika, pikachu!" He shouted in warning, but it was too late.

"Ahh!" A few feet ahead of Ash, Dawn fell through the ground in the same manner he had fallen.

"Ow..." Dawn had safely landed on her behind, except it hurt from the impact.

"Dawn! You alright up there? Dawn!" Ash called out from his hole. Dawn was about to answer when she was interrupted.

"Listen, is that a twerp I hear?" A female voice said from above.

"Yelling out loud and clear!" A male voice followed.

Ash and Dawn both looked up at the descending balloon.

"Floating on the wind,"

"Past the stars-"

"In your ears!" Meowth jumped in.

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!"

"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!"

"A rose by any other name's just as sweet-"

"When everything's worse, our work is complete!"

"Jessie!" She struck a pose, pointing at the two trapped in the holes.

"James!" He also struck the same pose Jessie did, only mirrored and he had a red rose in his hand.

"Meowth, now dat's a name!" The pokemon jumped up onto the edge of the balloon basket.

"Putting the do-gooders in their place-"

"We're Team Rocket-" The three all pointed at the twerps.

"And we're in your face!" They all finished at once.

* * *

_"Hey, there's Pikachu!"_

The Eevee had finally found their new friend from earlier, but something was wrong- terribly wrong. What was Pikachu doing in a cage?

_"Brother, what's going on?"_

_"I don't know..." _He whispered back to his sister. They were hiding behind a bush, watching a scene unfold in front of them. Cries of "Dawn!" were heard and a strange trio was reciting something as they descended down to the ground in their balloon. The trio looked busy, so Eevee took the chance to ask his friend what's going on.

_"Psst! Pikachu!"_

Pikachu's ear twitched as he turned his head towards the source of the whisper. He saw the two Eevee poking their heads through a bush.

_"What's going on? Why are you and Piplup in cages?"_ Eevee continued as he also noticed the proud penguin pokemon in another small cage nearby.

_"It's Team Rocket!"_

_"Team what?" _The sister replied.

_"Rocket, and they trapped my trainer and Dawn in those holes over there!"_ Pikachu pointed towards the two holes in front of his cage.

_"But why?" _The sister asked.

_"To catch me and Piplup!"_

_"What can we do to help?" _The brother asked quickly, as it sounded like the trio was finishing whatever they were reciting.

_"Get out of here and get help! If they see you guys, they'll try to capture you guys too!" _The brother suddenly wore a serious look on his face as he answered,

_"Okay. I'll go get my human to help." _He and his sister pulled their heads back from the bushes. Eevee was about to run off, when his sister asked him,

_"But shouldn't we help Pikachu and Piplup?"_

_"What could we do to help? Neither of us knows any strong attacks- you don't even know Quick Attack!" _The brother answered.

_"But what about that one move you learned?" _The brother seemed a bit surprised her sister remembered he knew that move.

_"It's... still not ready yet. Let's hurry up and get the human here!"_ He ran off in the opposite direction with a curious sister following behind.

_"Hey, he's nearby!" _The sister's nose picked up the familiar human's scent. She ran in front of her brother and started to sprint faster. She stopped behind a tree and told her brother,

_"He's getting closer!"_

_

* * *

_

"Squirtle, what's up?" The tiny turtle pokemon had jumped off of Ryan's shoulder and ran off in another direction. Squirtle stopped near a tree and called,

"Squirtle! Squirt squirtle?" _(Eevee! Are you guys there?)_

Then two familiar and nearly identical faces showed themselves from behind the tree.

"Eevee!" _(Squirtle!)_ The two Eevee exclaimed at the same time. They ran up to Squirtle and greeted their friend.

"Hey guys!" Ryan walked over to where the Eevee siblings were. As he walked, the Eevee remembered what they needed to do to help their friends in trouble.

"I'm glad you guys are..." He stopped in mid sentence as he thought he saw worried looks on the Eevee's faces. Squirtle also noticed and asked,

"Squirt squirtle?"_ (What's wrong?)_

Eevee ran up to Ryan and motioned over towards the direction they came from.

"Eevee, eevee vee!" _(Please, help us!) _She cried out. Unfortunately, the teen had yet to understand what the pokemon were really saying.

"Huh?" Ryan looked in the direction Eevee motioned. "Say, isn't that the direction where the lightning bolt was?" He thought out loud. It took a minute, but from the lightning bolt to the worried Eevee, he managed to put two and two together.

"Did something bad happen or something?" Ryan asked Eevee, who nodded. Then she ran off, looking back and crying out,

"Eevee vee!" _(Follow me!) _Then she ran off again. Her brother followed with an almost urgent like speed and Squirtle started to follow.

"Squirt!"_ (Wait!) _Squirtle called to no avail as the Eevee ran off.

"Come on Squirtle, something's up." Ryan said to Squirtle. He motioned for Squirtle to climb onto his shoulder so he could catch up to the Eevee. After a bit of hesitation, Squirtle decided to climb on- something was wrong with his friends. Then Ryan and Squirtle quickly followed the Eevee, who were ahead of them.

Eevee stopped behind a line of bushes which seemed to lead to a small clearing.

"Eevee!" _(Over here!) _She motioned Ryan over and peeked through the bush. Her brother did the same as Ryan approached. Squirtle hopped off of his shoulder and looked with the Eevee.

"Huh? Why are they…"

Ryan decided to do the same action as the pokemon and peek through the bushes. His heart skipped a beat.

_"N-no way..."_

A familiar Meowth balloon hung overhead with a familiar trio of thieves inside. A familiar electric mouse was trapped in a small cage on the ground. A not so familiar blue penguin was also trapped. And two open pitfall traps graced the ground, meaning someone had fallen in.

_"Is that...?" _Ryan shook his head.

"It can't be..." He remembered waking up early Saturday mornings to see a cartoon, a certain cartoon called Pokemon. His thoughts flashed to a messy haired boy with a Z on his red and white hat, a redhead girl, and a tanned teen fighting off this same trio of thieves- "Team Rocket! Ryan looked up at the figures in the hot air balloon. A purple haired guy- James! A red haired woman- Jessie! They even had the same Meowth!

"Hey, dat worked like a charm!" The Meowth talked, just like the cartoon! Ryan's mind was blown. The pokemon next to him noticed his shocked expression. The Eevee were a bit surprised themselves- how did this human know these bad people? The sister nudged Ryan, shaking him from his almost star struck-like thoughts. Ryan, noticing he was lost in thought, apologized.

"Sorry guys." He looked over towards the Pikachu trapped in a cage. It looked familiar too! The boy from the cartoon had a Pikachu too! What if...

_"That Pikachu looks familiar... if Team Rocket's here, then that has to mean..." _A shout from one of the holes confirmed his theory.

"Team Rocket, you'll never get away with this!" A familiar voice yelled out.

"Too bad we just did, twerp!" Jessie stuck her tongue out, facing the hole farthest away from the cages.

_"It's Ash Ketchum!" _Ryan thought, his mind was having trouble comprehending anything that was happening. Weird fortune telling, real pokemon, and now, the cartoon characters were real?

"Wait, is Ash stuck in one of those holes?" He quietly asked both of the Eevee. They both nodded. It all clicked in Ryan's head- Eevee wanted him to help Pikachu!

Ryan quickly thought of a plan. Three pokemon and a human that needed to rescue a Pikachu, Ash, and anybody else in that other hole. The pokemon probably wouldn't obey if he tried to command them. Even if they would, he had no idea what they could do. He knew what attacks they could learn, but he had no idea which ones they could do.

"A head on strike is out... Well, unless..." He remembered about the rope in his pack and took it out. He had one part of his plan ready, now for the next part.

"Guys," Squirtle and the Eevee looked at Ryan as he talked. "I got a plan," He held the rope in his hand. "I'll get Ash out of the hole, and he'll send one of his pokemon out to break the cage Pikachu's in! Problem is, I need time to do this, and I have a feeling Team Rocket won't give it to us."

Realizing what he needed to do, Eevee charged out from the bush.

"No! Wait!" Ryan reached out through the bush, instantly blowing his cover.

"Oh, shoot."


	6. A New World Part 6

**I'm having fun re-reading the first saga. This is where Ryan tries to battle Team Rocket, and... well, read it and find out! (Edited Sept. 26)**

**

* * *

**

"Eh? Who's dat?" Meowth pointed toward a jet black haired teen that jumped out of the bushes.

"Huh?" Jessie and James turned their attention from the twerps to this new guy. He looked older than the twerps for sure...

"Hey, is that kid with them?" James asked Jessie. They turned to face each other, conversing about this new development.

"Guys, I think you better come look at dis!" An Eevee was charging at the balloon, no, the spot right below the balloon. A dark purple orb of energy started forming as Eevee opened his mouth. He aimed up, hoping the orb would last and shouted,

"Eevee!" _(Shadow Ball!)_

**BOOM.** The dark purple orb of energy hit the balloon and travelled from the bottom of the basket to the top of the actual balloon, popping it. Team Rocket was sent plummeting to the ground.

Ryan watched Eevee's heroics and nearly forgot why he needed a distraction.

"Oh, right!"

He ran over to the hole farthest away from the cages, looked down, and called,

"Hey! Grab on!"

Ash looked up from the bottom of the hole to see who called him. It wasn't anyone he knew. Ryan threw the rope he had down to Ash, who grabbed the rope and climbed it while Ryan held on to his end of the rope. He pulled himself up from the hole and got to his feet.

"Thanks!"

"No problem," Ryan looked at his childhood hero. He sure did look a little different- his clothes were different, even his trademark hat was too! But, he still had the z marked cheeks and messy hair...

"I gotta help Dawn!"

"Huh? Who's-" Before Ryan could finish asking, Ash turned to the other hole, peered down and yelled,

"Dawn! You okay down there?"

"Yeah, wait how'd you get out?" Ryan peered down the hole and saw a blunette girl with a white beanie, black sleeveless shirt with a black and pink skirt looking up at him and Ash. She didn't look familiar at all to Ryan, but, he could've sworn he saw her somewhere... Ash pointed his thumb at the teen next to him.

"He helped me out with his rope- we'll get'cha out!" Ryan gave the rope to Ash to let down to Dawn. She grabbed on and started climbing.

"Hey Ash, what happened to Team Rocket?" Dawn asked as she climbed.

Ryan's eyes widened- he completely forgot about them and... Eevee! He turned to look at the wrecked balloon and saw the Eevee and Squirtle standing in front of the cages holding Pikachu and that weird blue penguin. The trio of thieves was advancing on them!

"Mess with our plans, will you?" James pulled out a Pokeball and pressed the button, enlarging the ball. Jessie did the same, and they both threw their Pokeballs.

"Seviper, let's teach these twerp pokemon a lesson!"

"Carnivine, you too!"

The Pokeballs opened, and two white silhouettes emerged on the ground in front of the balls. The white silhouettes dissipated to reveal a black snake-like creature with long purple fangs, yellow hexagons on its skin, and a knife-like tail and a green Venus flytrap like creature with vines for arms and legs.

"Carnivine!"

"Seviper!"

"What can I say? Three more pokemon for the boss means three times the promotions for us!" Jessie laughed in triumph.

"I don't think so." The jet black haired teen ran up past the trio and in front of the Eevee and Squirtle.

"Spoken like a twerp." Jessie noted.

"Twerps like you couldn't stop us if you tried!" James said.

Ryan looked at the two pokemon Team Rocket sent out. Neither were familiar, so he had no idea what types they were or what attacks they could use.

"Vee eevee vee!" _(Don't call him a twerp!) _Eevee said as she stepped in front of Ryan, getting in a battle stance. Her brother looked at her- she never acted like this. He was shocked, but another thing occurred to him- she had never battled before!

"Ooh, looks like we've got ourselves a hero here!" Jessie remarked.

"Squirtle, squirt?" _(Yeah, so what?)_ Squirtle also stepped up in front of Ryan and next to Eevee. Squirtle looked back at Ryan and said something.

"Squirtle squirt squirtle." _(This doesn't change anything.) _And then he looked back at Team Rocket. Meowth took note and said,

"Hey, Squirtle has beef with dat kid! He said that him standin' in front of the kid changes nothin'."

Ryan heard and rolled his eyes in amusement.

_"Guess that's Squirtle..." _He thought. Ryan looked back at the cages- he had to find some way of opening them. _"Of course!"_ Turning to the Eevee behind him,

"Eevee, can you break the cages with that one move you used on the balloon?"

"Vee!" _(Yeah!) _He ran off to the cages to break them open.

"Ah-ah-ah, not today-" Jessie pointed and commanded, "Seviper, Poison Tail!"

"Carnivine, Vine Whip!" James followed. The attacks flew towards Eevee and Squirtle.

* * *

Ash helped Dawn get up from the edge of the hole. She got to her feet and patted her skirt down.

"Thanks Ash!"

"No problem. We'd better get Pikachu and Piplup outta those cages!" Ash and Dawn turned to where the cages were and saw Team Rocket advancing upon Ryan, Eevee and Squirtle.

"We gotta help 'em!" Ash said. He reached for a Pokeball, enlarged it and threw it.

"Staraptor, I choose you!" The Pokeball landed on the ground and rolled.

"Ash, we left all of our pokemon with Brock, remember?" Dawn reminded him. Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Yikes, I forgot..." Ash looked at the pokemon being approached by Team Rocket. Thinking they were trained by Ryan, he yelled to him,

"Quick! Tell them to dodge! Seviper's and Carnivine's attacks are gonna hit 'em!"

_"I hope they listen..."_ Ryan thought as he heard the advice.

"Okay guys, dodge those attacks... huh?" Squirtle had already moved out of the way, while Eevee waited for Ryan's command to do the same. The attacks missed their targets!

_"Well, at least someone's listening."_

Seviper's tail needed time to recoil and launch again- it was the perfect opportunity for a counterattack!

"Okay Eevee, can you use..." Ryan paused. "Wait, what attacks can you do?"

**SCANNING EEVEE FOR ATTACKS.**

A sound from Ryan's pocket prompted him to grab his Pokedex out and open it.  
**  
SCAN COMPLETE. ATTACKS AVAILABLE ARE- TACKLE, SAND-ATTACK, AND BITE.**

Ryan nodded with this new information.

"Okay Eevee, use Tack-" Seviper had already pulled its tail back to striking position.

"Seviper, Poison Tail!" Jessie commanded. Seviper's tail started to glow a purplish color as it swung at Eevee.

"Eevee, dodge, quick!" Ryan quickly reacted. The Poison Tail slammed down onto the ground as Eevee moved to the side. Seviper was now vulnerable for a few seconds!

"Use Tackle!" Ryan pointed at Seviper.

Eevee rammed into Seviper, knocking it back a little.

_"Okay, now what about the other-" _Ryan stopped his thought. James and his pokemon had vanished from their previous spot.

* * *

_"Okay, I can do this..." _Eevee thought as he tried forming his Shadow Ball attack again. He was in front of Pikachu's cage, ready to break it down.

Eevee took a deep breath- his sister was buying him time and he needed to do this quickly, but... the Shadow Ball wouldn't stay formed! Dark bits of energy were coming together, merging into one orb of energy.

_"Come on... no!" _The orb dissipated as quickly as it had formed. Pikachu cheered Eevee on as he tried once more to use Shadow Ball. More bits of energy were coming together when Pikachu noticed something in the background.

"Carnivine, use Bullet Seed on Eevee!" James commanded.

Carnivine opened its mouth, firing little yellow seed like pellets straight at Eevee.

_"Hey, look out!" _Pikachu quickly warned. The focused Shadow Ball dissipated as Eevee jumped up to dodge the Bullet Seed. Eevee landed on his paws next to Pikachu's cage.

_"Darn... I can't form Shadow Ball anymore..." _Eevee thought as he stood in a defensive battle stance, facing Jame's Carnivine.

"Carnivine, use Bullet Seed again!" As Carnivine opened its mouth, Eevee realized how he could get Pikachu's cage open. He ran in front of the cage as Carnivine aimed at him. The little yellow pellets shot towards Eevee, who just stood there.

_"Okay..." _The Bullet Seed was about to hit Eevee. _"Now!" _Eevee rolled to the side, successfully dodging Bullet Seed, and as an added bonus...

_"Hey, the bars are bent!" _Pikachu noticed. He decided it was time the bars broke. Pikachu repeatedly rammed the weakened cage bars, trying to finish what the Bullet Seed had started.

_"If only there was enough room in here... I could use Iron Tail and be out of here in a flash!"_ Pikachu thought as he kept ramming.

Eevee looked at the cage bars. Bullet Seed wasn't enough...

_"I gotta try Shadow Ball again!" _He thought.

Eevee faced the cage and charged the dark bits of energy again.

"Now Carnivine, Vine Whip!" Eevee was so busy focusing the Shadow Ball that he had forgotten about James and Carnivine for a second. Consequently, he had no time to dodge, but he couldn't give up on the Shadow Ball he was forming- it was taxing Eevee to the limit! This Shadow Ball would be the last one he could form for awhile...

The Vine Whip tightly wrapped around Eevee, turning him towards James and Carnivine. Enduring the squeeze, Eevee kept charging Shadow Ball.

"Ha-ha-ha! Gonna hit us with that Shadow Ball?" James said.

He then pointed in the opposite direction.

"I'm a step ahead of you! Carnivine, turn Eevee that way!"

Carnivine followed its master's orders and faced Eevee in the direction he pointed. Nothing was in the direction except for a few trees, bushes, helpless twerps watching, and the cages holding Pikachu and Piplup.

_"Hey, thanks!" _Eevee smirked. James had given him a free shot at Pikachu's cage. He fired, with the last of his strength,

_"Shadow Ball!" _The perfectly round black and dark purple orb of energy shot like a bullet towards Pikachu's cage. James saw the attack flying through the air and knew exactly what the evolutionary pokemon tried to do. The Shadow Ball landed with an explosion of power near Pikachu's cage, breaking it open with ease, and then some.

* * *

"Eevee!" Ryan couldn't do anything but watch poor Eevee, who was wrapped up by Seviper. She tried wiggling her way out, but the snake's hold was too strong.

"Squirt, squirtle!" _(Hold on, I'm coming!) _Squirtle said as he flew, headfirst, slamming into Seviper. Seviper loosened its hold on Eevee, giving her a chance to escape. She leapt out and landed gracefully on the ground.

"Eevee!" _(Thanks!)_

"Squirtle, squirtle squirtle." _(Yeah, but let me take care of this.)_ Squirtle stood in front of Eevee, blocking her from battling anymore.

"Vee..." _(But...)_

Before Squirtle could reply,

"Seviper, use Haze!" Jessie called out. A black stream of haze travelled out of Seviper's mouth. Haze made it impossible for Squirtle, Eevee, and Ryan to see.

"Dang, I can't see a thing!" Ryan thought out loud. Breathing also became a problem, as the three of them started coughing.

"Guys, are you alright?" Ryan coughed out as he covered his nose to try filtering the Haze.

"Vee..." _(Yeah...) _A weak reply came from Eevee.

"Squirtle squirtle..." _(Let me take care of this...) _Squirtle retreated into his shell and started slowly spinning. The slow spinning grew fast instantly! As a result, the Haze gathered around Squirtle's spinning shell, giving Eevee and Ryan fresh air. Squirtle popped out of his shell, making the Haze dissipate.

"Seviper!"_ (I have you now!)_

Seviper had used the Haze as a distraction! It leapt through with an intent to land a Poison Tail...

"Now, use Poison Tail!" Jessie commanded.

Squirtle was still dazed from his Rapid Spin and didn't have a second to react.

"Squirtle! Look out!"

The tiny turtle pokemon closed his eyes and braced for impact. Wham! Seviper's Poison Tail slammed into Squirtle's chest, sending the turtle flying into a tree trunk.

"Eevee!" _(Squirtle!) _Eevee sprinted to where Squirtle landed. She looked upon the sight of her friend. Squirtle laid face down, unconscious, covered in dirt, scratches, and a small light purple scratch on his left arm.

Ryan ran a second after Eevee had and couldn't believe it. How could this have happened? How could he have let one of his favorite pokemon get hurt like that?

"So twerp, what's it going to be?" Ryan turned around to see a triumphant Jessie and her Seviper laying in front of her, waiting for another command.

"Are you going to give us the Eevee and Squirtle? Or are you going to let them get hurt?"

Ryan turned and looked into Eevee's eyes, desperate for advice. If only he could understand pokemon...

"I wish I knew what to do... I don't wanna give up, but I don't want you guys to get hurt either..."

"Vee eevee!"

Ryan shook his head. Was it his imagination, or did he hear a female voice talk to him as Eevee opened its mouth?

"Don't give up?" Eevee nodded.

After a small silence, Ryan couldn't help but smirk, earning confusion from Jessie.

"Huh? What's so funny twerp?"

With more conviction in his voice, Ryan faced Jessie and replied,

"Nothing, just the fact I was ready to give up a minute ago."

Ryan got in front of Eevee and the unconscious Squirtle, with his arms out, shielding the pokemon.

"Get past me first. Then deal with them." An air of confidence had replaced the one full of doubt. At least, that's what it felt like to Eevee, who couldn't figure out what was up with the human- it was like he transformed into another person or something...

"Eevee, can you drag Squirtle out of here?" Ryan said to Eevee. Eevee looked up at the human's face- something was different alright. A hard confident look was etched into the human's face.

"You gotta hurry..." Ryan then turned his head to Eevee. "Go!"

Eevee turned and ran to move Squirtle.

"Ah-ah, Seviper, after them!" Jessie pointed at Eevee and Squirtle. Seviper charged toward the pokemon. Ryan stood his ground in front of the pokemon. Jessie was a bit amazed- this was definitely a twerp alright. He was stupid enough to stand in the middle of danger for pokemon.

"Alright, use Wrap on all three of them!"

Seviper was five feet away and was lifting its tail...

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu jumped into the air from behind Ryan and shot a yellow bolt at Seviper, shocking the snake and stopping it's attack. As Pikachu landed on all fours in front of him, Ryan sighed with relief. He turned to see Ash and the girl named Dawn, who had the blue penguin standing next to her and was holding an unconscious Eevee in her arms. Jessie growled at the sight of the cavalry. Another plan gone to waste! James ran up to Jessie and said,

"Let's get out of here!"

"Fine! Where's Meowth?" As Jessie asked, another hot air balloon dropped next to them, with Meowth in it.

"Need a lift?"

Jessie pulled her Pokeball out, enlarged it, and pressed the button, which shot a red beam at Seviper.

"Seviper, return." The snake disappeared as the red beam retracted into the Pokeball. Jessie and James leapt into the spare balloon as it lifted up into the air.

"Not so fast, Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash pointed at Team Rocket.

"And Piplup, you use Bubblebeam!" Dawn told Piplup. Pikachu shot another yellow bolt, while Piplup opened his beak and shot a steady stream of bubbles.

The attacks landed their mark, shocking Team Rocket and causing an explosion within the balloon. Three figures shot from the explosion towards the night sky, shouting,

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" The figures faded to a twinkle in the sky.

* * *

Ryan wasted no time checking the fallen tiny turtle. He turned and kneeled down to pick Squirtle up. As Ryan cradled Squirtle in his arms, Ash, Dawn, Pikachu and Piplup ran over to him. Eevee climbed up onto Ryan's right shoulder as he stood up.

"Is your Squirtle alright?" Ash asked.

"Squirtle took a nasty hit from that Poison Tail earlier..." Ryan explained, looking at the two kids in front of him. They were a bit shorter than he was, up to his shoulders in height. He noticed Eevee asleep in Dawn's arms.

"Hey, is Eevee okay?" Ryan asked Dawn.

"Your Eevee used Shadow Ball to break Pikachu free, and it collapsed afterwards." Dawn explained. Ryan's face wore a concerned look, which Dawn noticed.

"I'm sure Eevee's just tired, that's all!" Dawn added.

_"I hope..."_ The teen looked at Eevee who was perched on his shoulders. Her ears drooped down, expressing sadness. He gave her a generic smile and looked down at Squirtle. The tiny turtle was slowly breathing.

"Hey, what's that?" Ryan noticed the small purple scratch on Squirtle's arm. The scratch was glowing in a light purplish color.

"Squirtle must have been poisoned!" Dawn said in realization.

"We gotta get back to Brock, quick!" Ash said. Ryan's ear twitched a bit. So he was here too...

"But where's Brock?" Dawn pointed out. Ash realized- they ended up lost too! Brock was somewhere in the forest, and they needed to get back to him quick!

"Staraptor!" _(There you are!) _A bird with a weird haircut flew towards Ash and landed in front of him. The bird was nearly as tall as Ash! He asked the pokemon,

"Staraptor! Did Brock send you?" Staraptor nodded.

"Great! Can you lead us back to him? Squirtle's been poisoned!" Ash pointed to Ryan, with Squirtle in his arms.

"Star!" Staraptor nodded and flew up into the air again.

"Let's go guys!" Ash led the way with Pikachu on his shoulder and Piplup in his arms since Dawn was carrying Eevee. Ryan had the sister on his  
shoulder and Squirtle in his arms. He noticed Squirtle's labored breathing- the poison was taking its toll.

_"Don't worry, you'll be fine... I promise." _Ryan thought.


	7. A New World Part 7

**This is it- the finale of A New World! I liked writing this part... I'd like an opinion from you guys, but after you're done reading this part- don't wanna give away any spoilers.**

**

* * *

**

"Staraptor's been gone for awhile now..."

Brock stood with his arms crossed at the edge of the campsite. It had been nearly an hour since Ash and Dawn set off to find Pikachu and Piplup, and they still have yet to return. Brock sent Staraptor into the skies to find the missing trainers a few minutes ago. Silence was broken as Brock heard a familiar bird cry.

"Star star!" _(Over here!)_ Brock heard the familiar call and looked up- Staraptor was leading somebody back to the campsite. They were finally back!

"Hmm?" Brock saw a third, older figure emerge along with Ash and Dawn. The figure was holding a Squirtle, like it was injured! Brock ran up to them to see what had occurred in the past hour.

* * *

"Ash! Dawn!" The both of them saw Brock running towards them.

"Brock!"

Ryan saw a squinty eyed, tanned guy running towards them. It was definitely Brock, even with the different outfit.

"Glad you guys are alright!" Brock said, as he came up to them. "What happened?" He looked at the Eevee in Dawn's arms, then to the Squirtle in Ryan's arms.

"It was Team Rocket... Squirtle was poisoned!" Ash explained, motioning to Squirtle, who started to twist and turn a little.

"Poisoned?" Brock knew what that meant. Depending on the time of when Squirtle got poisoned... there'd be time for questions later. Now, he had to hurry!

"Okay... I've got something in my pack. Bring Squirtle over here!"

Brock motioned the others to follow him towards his bag. Ryan nodded and ran next to Brock while the others followed. Staraptor landed next to a crowd of pokemon who were watching the events unfold. As they approached Brock's pack, Ash and Dawn stood watching Brock while he and Ryan kneeled down. Brock opened his pack and pulled a pink strawberry-like fruit that Ryan had never seen before. Ash and Ryan shared a puzzled look as they examined the berry Brock held. Dawn knew what the berry was instantly.

"That's a Pecha Berry!" Brock nodded.

"Yep. Here, let me see Squirtle..." Brock held the fruit up to Squirtle's mouth.

"What's that supposed to do?" Ryan asked Brock.

"Doesn't a Pecha Berry cure poisoning?" Dawn asked before Brock answered.

"It does," Brock paused as Squirtle unconsciously sniffed the berry and bit into it. The faint purple glow faded from Squirtle's cut, and Squirtle's breathing slowed down to a resting pace.

"Squirtle should be fine now, but it needs some time to rest." Brock said to Ryan.

"Phew..." Ryan let loose a sigh of relief and showed a small smile.

"Here, let Squirtle lay down for a while..." Brock laid a small blanket on the ground, next to his pack. Ryan softly placed Squirtle on the blanket,  
with his belly down. The teen figured it might feel more natural for a turtle to sleep that way. Brock, Ash, Dawn, and Ryan started to walk back towards the campfire.

A sudden yawn from Ryan's shoulders made him turn to Eevee, who looked exhausted.

"Hey Eevee, you alright?" Ryan saw the tired look on her face.

"Vee..." _(Yeah...)_ She yawned again. Today was the first time she had actually battled! Granted, Squirtle had to save her once, but...

"Hey, I got'cha..." Ryan motioned his head towards his arms, telling Eevee to jump into them.

"Vee?" _(Really?)_ Without a second thought, Eevee jumped into Ryan's arms. It felt comfortable for the evolutionary pokemon as the teen carried her in his arms. Eevee cuddled her head into the human's arm.

"Aww, how cute!" Dawn noticed Eevee's cuddling.

"Eevee must really like you as a trainer." Brock noted.

"Uh... well, I'm not a trainer... exactly." Ryan gingerly scratched the back of his head with his free arm as Dawn, Ash, and Brock looked a bit confused. "You see, these aren't my pokemon." Pikachu and Piplup looked at each other and nodded- they already knew, except the human wasn't a trainer?

"Really?" Dawn was a bit amazed. From what she could tell, the way he commanded Eevee... and he isn't even a trainer? Ryan nodded.

"Are you just looking after them? Or are they wild pokemon?" Ash curiously asked.

"Well, to tell the truth, I have no idea..." Ash, Dawn, and Brock were taken aback by his response.

"Huh? What do ya mean?" Ash asked. In his mind, Ryan cringed. This could take awhile...

"It's... a long story."

Ryan took a seat on the grassy ground next to the campfire as the others did the same. Eevee decided to hop out of Ryan's arms and lay down on the comfy grassy ground, preparing to listen to the human. Dawn softly placed the sleeping Eevee she was holding next to her as she sat down. Taking a sigh, Ryan started his tale.

"Well, I was at an amusement park with my two childhood friends, just hanging after school-"

Ash interrupted. "Wait, you still go to school? I thought Pokemon School was over with when you turned ten!"

"Ash, remember Candice and her Pokemon Academy? There were older people in those classes..." Dawn reminded Ash. A while back when Ash was competing for his seventh badge, he encountered a Pokemon Academy in Snowpoint City ran by the Snowpoint Gym leader- Candice. There was a Pokemon Refresher course for older trainers there.

"Huh? Pokemon Academy?" Ryan was confused. Was he in a completely different world now? He didn't doubt it, but just to be on the safe side...

"You don't know what we're talking about?" Dawn asked. Ryan shook his head.

"I don't... I go to a high school."

"High school?" Now it was their turn to get confused.

"But, anyways... I wandered off into an old fortune teller's tent..." Ryan continued on.

Moments passed as he told them what happened from when he fell through the white opening up to the point of where he helped Ash and Dawn out.

"And, you guys know the rest, Eevee got Pikachu free and you guys," Ryan motioned towards Ash and Dawn. "...took care of Team Rocket." Ryan finished up.

"Wow..." Dawn wasn't the only one amazed. Ash and Brock shared the same feeling. From what the teen had told them, it was like he was from another world or something!

"You know," Ryan suddenly continued. "I never knew for sure, but now I know- I'm in a completely different world."

"What makes you say that?" Brock asked him.

"Well," Ryan took his pack off, opened it, and took his cell phone he had put in earlier. He held it up for the others to see.

"Is that a Pokegear?" Ash asked.

"What's a Pokegear? This is a cell phone, makes voice calls via satellite." Ryan explained.

"Cell phone?"

Ryan was a hundred percent sure this was another world now. He pressed a few buttons on his cell phone, bringing up a picture of him and two others smiling while the guy held a peace sign up and Ryan held a thumbs up. He held the cell phone up again, showing Ash, Dawn, and Brock the picture.

"These guys are the childhood friends I've been talking about, Taylor and Carter. This is from when we visited a giant arch in St. Louis." Ryan pointed out the metal gleam in the background, only part of the arch showed up in the picture. As Ash, Dawn, and Brock examined the picture, Ryan continued.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you guys don't know where St. Louis is, right?"

Three nodding heads answered as Ryan turned his cell phone off and put it back in his pack.

"And as far as I know, the United States isn't a country here, is it?"

"United States? Huh..." Brock put his hand to his chin. "No, I haven't heard of any country called that, but I could check the Pokegear Maps..."

Brock pulled his blue Pokegear out again and touched the screen. A list of available region maps came up.

"Hmm... nothing about a United States." Brock pocketed his Pokegear.

"Okay, so... what country or region am I in?" Ryan asked.

"Well, we're in the Sinnoh region, east of Mt. Coronet." Brock answered.

_"Sinnoh?"_ Ryan thought. He only remembered faintly about a region named Kanto... and something about Johto... but Sinnoh?

"Huh... I'm definitely far from home, that's for sure." Ryan crossed his arms as he thought.

Originally, getting back to Carter and Taylor seemed like it would take a day, tops. Now, a day seemed like a stretched miracle. The United States doesn't even exist! A silence was present as Ryan was deep in thought. Ash, Dawn, and Brock watched the teen in silence. Even Eevee was silent. The human had come from another country that doesn't even exist! Her mind was still taking it in. But... at least that kind of explained why the human acted so weird when she first met him earlier.

_"Still, it's not like there aren't pokemon back in his home-"_

"Oh!" Ryan snapped out of his thoughts suddenly. "I forgot to introduce myself, sorry!" He looked at everybody; Ash, Dawn, Brock, and Eevee.

"You too Eevee, sorry I forgot to tell you my name... I'm Ryan."

_"I like his name..." _Eevee thought.

"I'm Ash," Ash extended his hand for a handshake, which Ryan returned. "And this is my partner, Pikachu!" He pointed to the electric mouse on his shoulder, who waved,

"Pika!" _(Hi!)_

"I'm Dawn!" The blunette greeted. "And this is my partner, Piplup!" She pointed to the proud penguin who sat on her head.

"Piplup!" _(Hey!)_ Piplup waved to the newcomer.

"And I'm Brock." Brock also greeted.

"It's nice to meet you-" Ryan was interrupted by a female robotic voice coming from his pocket.

**PIKACHU: THE ELECTRIC MOUSE POKEMON.**

Ryan reached into his pocket, took the Pokedex out, and opened it, where a picture of a Pikachu was shown on the top screen.

**THIS INTELLIGENT POKEMON ROASTS HARD BERRIES WITH ELECTRICITY TO MAKE THEM TENDER ENOUGH TO EAT.**

The Pokedex continued on with a picture of Piplup appearing on the top screen.

**PIPLUP: THE PENGUIN POKEMON. BECAUSE ITS VERY PROUD, IT HATES ACCEPTING FOOD FROM PEOPLE. IT LIVES ALONG SHORES IN NORTHERN COUNTRIES.**

"You have a Pokedex?" Ash and Dawn said in surprise. Ryan nodded.

"I found it in the pack the fortune teller asked me to hold... it's kinda strange."

"What do you mean by strange?" Dawn asked.

"Where I come from..." Ryan paused for a split second before continuing. "...pokemon don't exist." A startled gasp emerged from everyone in the camp, pokemon and human alike. The world they live in couldn't be possible without pokemon. A world without pokemon? The thought was foreign to everyone. Eevee's gears clicked- it made sense to her now.

_"So that's why Ryan acted so surprised when he saw me..."_

"You're kiddin', right?" Ash asked, still in disbelief. His whole life was dedicated to pokemon. A world without pokemon, and his best buddy, Pikachu? No way.

"But then why did the fortune teller have that working Pokedex hidden in your pack?" Brock asked.

"I honestly have no clue... especially since no one would have a reason to make a real one in my world..."

"Real?" Brock caught the word Ryan had used.

"Uh, well..." Ryan didn't exactly know what to say. Pokemon existed as a cartoon in his world. How would they take the news that millions of strangers were watching their every action? But, maybe... that was it! Ryan picked his words carefully.

"Well, pokemon... are in my world, just... not real."

"What do you mean?" Brock was puzzled.

"Yeah, what Brock said!" Ash added.

"Well, you see... pokemon, is a... cartoon, back home." Ryan tactfully decided to leave everything on a need to know basis. The teen considered something- if anybody told him millions of people were watching his every move, he would freak out.

"A cartoon, about pokemon? Like a documentary?" Brock asked.

"It's actually about a trainer, trying to be a Pokemon Master." Ryan quickly said.

"Wow, that kind of sounds like Ash!" Dawn said in realization.

"It kind of does..." Brock agreed. Brock was about to ask Ryan for the trainer's name when a sudden growl emerged onto the scene.

"Uh, sorry guys! Guess I'm a bit hungry..." Ash gingerly rubbed his stomach.

"Ash, way to let your stomach-" Dawn was interrupted by a low growl below her. Her face showed a light, faint blush as she stopped her chastising of Ash. Brock merely shook his head in amusement.

"Well, you guys did miss dinner... I'll reheat it for you guys." Brock got up and turned to the crowd of pokemon huddled on the picnic blanket.

"Infernape, could you come over here?" As soon as Brock asked, a brown and red monkey like pokemon ran over to him.

Ryan looked at the sight- the pokemon was about three and a half feet tall at the most and it had a flame burning on top of its head.

**INFERNAPE: THE FLAME POKEMON.**

Ryan's Pokedex started up again. He looked at the top screen, which showed a picture of Infernape.

**ITS CROWN OF FIRE IS INDICTATIVE OF ITS FIERY NATURE. IT IS BEATEN BY NONE IN TERMS OF QUICKNESS.**

"What kind of pokemon is that... I've never seen anything like it!" Ryan thought as he closed the Pokedex and pocketed it. Infernape stopped in front of the campfire.

"Infernape, could you help me reheat dinner for Ash and Dawn? And our guest too." Brock asked.

Infernape nodded and walked towards the pot of stew with Brock.

A few minutes passed with a small silence as Ryan was in his thoughts. Ash and Dawn were conversing with each other as dinner was being reheated.

"Hey Ash, you ready for the Sunnyshore Gym?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, I can't wait!" Ash's fist shot into the air in excitement, along with Pikachu. "And what about you? Ready for the Grand Festival?"

"You bet!" Dawn replied.

_"Grand Festival?"_ Ryan thought. What was a Grand Festival? Speaking of which... Sunnyshore Gym? The gym was a no brainer- Ash was a battler, and as much as Ryan could figure out, Ash was probably challenging some league.

Ryan let the two converse as he let his sight wander around. He turned to the Eevee Dawn held earlier- still asleep. Then he felt a little touch on his leg and turned to see what it was. Eevee had fallen asleep too! She moved in her sleep, which ended up bumping Ryan. With a smile, his eyes continued to wander.

_"Wow! Are those pokemon?" _Ryan had finally noticed the crowd of pokemon a few feet away, behind Ash and Dawn. He carefully got up, so he wouldn't wake Eevee up, and walked towards the crowd. Ash and Dawn noticed Ryan's sudden movement, got up and followed him. There were so many pokemon! All of them were different shapes and sizes and almost all of them were completely new to the teen.

"Hey, what's up?" Ash asked as he and Dawn came up next to Ryan.

"I've never seen any pokemon up close like this before," Ryan explained.

"Well, in that case, let me introduce you to my pokemon!" Ash said.

"Yeah! Count me in!" Dawn added.

"Hey guys," Ash motioned. Four pokemon walked up to Ash. He turned to Ryan.

"Let me introduce you to my pokemon! Staraptor," The black bird with the weird haircut cried out. Before the Pokedex had a chance to start, Ryan pulled it out and opened it. He knew what was going to happen.

**STARAPTOR: THE PREDATOR POKEMON. THE MUSCLES ON ITS WINGS AND LEGS ARE STRONG. IT CAN EASILY FLY WHILE GRIPPING A SMALL POKEMON.**

"Buizel," An orange weasel like pokemon had its arms crossed and also cried out. The picture of Staraptor faded from the top screen of the Pokedex as a picture of Buizel appeared in its place.

**BUIZEL: THE SEA WEASEL POKEMON. IT SWIMS BY ROTATING ITS TWO TAILS LIKE A SCREW. WHEN IT DIVES, ITS FLOATATION SAC COLLAPSES.**

"Torterra," A large four legged creature with a tree on its back answered with a cry. Buizel's picture disappeared as Torterra's replaced it.

**TORTERRA: THE CONTINENT POKEMON. GROUPS OF THIS POKEMON MIGRATING IN SEARCH OF WATER HAVE BEEN MISTAKEN FOR MOVING FORESTS.**

"Gible," The land shark pokemon cried out before suddenly jumping onto Ash's head.

"Ash!" Ryan cried out. It looked like Gible was eating Ash's head!

"No need to worry, this is normal for Gible." Dawn explained. Ash laughed as Gible nibbled on his head and pulled out a Pokeball from his belt.

"Well... if you say so..." Ryan said as the Pokedex continued.

**GIBLE: THE LAND SHARK POKEMON. IT NESTS IN HORIZONTAL HOLES WARMED BY GEOTHERMAL HEAT. FOES WHO GET TOO CLOSE CAN EXPECT TO BE POUNCED ON AND BITTEN.**

"Ha-ha, okay Gible, return!" A red beam shot from the Pokeball and hit Gible, making it disappear into the ball. Ash reclipped the Pokeball back on his belt and continued.

"And over there with Brock is Infernape." Ash pointed to where Brock and Infernape stood, warming a pot of stew up.

"Hey, let me introduce you to my pokemon!" Dawn said to Ryan. Like earlier, four pokemon stepped towards Dawn.

"First, here's Buneary," Dawn motioned to a brown rabbit like pokemon with yellow fluff. Buneary waved in greeting as the Pokedex started up again.

**BUNEARY: THE RABBIT POKEMON. ITS EARS ARE ALWAYS ROLLED UP. THEY CAN BE FORCEFULLY EXTENDED TO SHATTER EVEN A LARGE BOULDER**.

Ryan noticed a difference between the picture of Buneary and the one standing in front of him. Buneary was wearing a small orange vest with a design on it.

"Pachirisu," A light blue and white squirrel like pokemon jumped up and down while crying out.

**PACHIRISU: THE ELESQUIRREL POKEMON. IT MAKES FUR BALLS THAT CRACKLE WITH STATIC ELECTRICITY. IT STORES THEM WITH BERRIES IN TREEHOLES.**

"Cyndaquil," A small mouse like pokemon with squinty eyes waved and cried out in greeting.

**CYNDAQUIL: THE FIRE MOUSE POKEMON. IT HAS A TIMID NATURE. IF IT IS STARTLED THE FLAMES ON ITS BACK BURN MORE VIGOROUSLY.**

"And last, but not least, Mamoswine!" A huge mammoth like pokemon did the same greeting the others had done.

**MAMOSWINE: THE TWIN TUSK POKEMON. IT FLOURISHED WORLDWIDE DURING THE ICE AGE, BUT ITS POPULATION WORLDWIDE DECLINED WHEN THE MASSES OF ICE BEGAN TO DWINDLE.**

_"Kinda reminds me of a mammoth..."_ Ryan thought.

"Hey guys! Dinner's ready!" Brock called out.

"Alright! I'm starvin'..." Ash was about to sprint over, but he remembered he had to do one more thing first.

"Hey, you guys wanna sleep out tonight?" Ash asked the pokemon. They all nodded in delight.

"Okay," Dawn went into her pink tent and pulled out a stack of blankets. She gave one to each pokemon and tucked them in.

"Sweet dreams, everyone!" Dawn softly said to the pokemon.

Ash, Dawn, and Ryan walked over to where Brock stood with Infernape.

"Here Infernape, take this," Dawn had one blanket in her arms and extended it out for Infernape to take. Infernape nodded with a smile and took the blanket.

"Guys, I'll be right back," Dawn walked back to the pokemon sleeping under the stars with Infernape.

As Dawn walked off, Ash sat down at the foldable table and started wolfing down food like there was no tomorrow. Ryan wore a blank look. He was hiding laughter, lots of it. He looked at the bowl in front of him and sat down. An entrancing aroma flew into Ryan's nose from the bowl. Ryan picked a spoon up and put a spoonful of the stew into his mouth. His eyes widened.

"This is delicious!" Ryan commented with thumbs up to Brock.

"Why, thanks!" Brock replied. Brock turned to Pikachu and Piplup with two bowls.

"Here you go guys, eat up!" Brock set the bowls on the table for Pikachu and Piplup to chow down. Ryan noticed the bowls didn't contain stew.

"Is that Pokemon food?" Ryan asked Brock, who nodded. Pikachu and Piplup hopped onto the table and started eating.

"And they're specifically made for each species of pokemon." Brock added. Pikachu and Piplup both smiled, put a wing and a fist in the air and shouted,

_"Awesome!"_ Then they went back to chowing down.

"Wow, that's a lot of work." Ryan commented.

"It is, but being a top Pokemon Breeder isn't going to be easy." Brock said. Ryan finished his bowl with a smile. The stew was good, but also, there was another similarity with the cartoon. Both Brocks want to be top Pokemon Breeders! Dawn walked over and took a seat in front of Ash.

"Well, everybody's sound asleep!" Dawn said.

"That's good." Brock answered as he looked over to the pokemon. Brock had returned his pokemon to their Pokeballs earlier- they wanted to sleep in them tonight.

"Mmm..." Dawn ate a spoonful of stew. "Awesome cooking, like always, Brock!"

"Glad to hear all of you like it." Brock said with a smile.

"Like it?" Ash said through a stuffed mouth. He was on his fifth bowl- make that sixth. "We love it!"

About twenty minutes passed of friendly questions and eating between the four people. Ash was too busy scarfing down stew to ask any questions, so it was mostly Dawn and Brock asking Ryan about his hometown. If pokemon didn't exist in Ryan's home, then how did they get around?

"Well, cars, trains, planes... there're lots of ways to get around." Ryan answered.

"Ooh, you guys have 'em too?" Dawn replied.

"You too?" Ryan asked.

"Well, not as many now, since there aren't many paved roads in Sinnoh for cars..." Dawn said.

"Are there cities here in Sinnoh?" Ryan felt kind of dumb for asking, but it couldn't hurt to be sure.

"Yeah, in fact we're headed towards one right now." Dawn answered.

"Sunnyshore City, and my next gym battle!" Ash added with a slightly stuffed mouth. A round belly indicated Ash was full. He had finished a whopping twelve bowls of stew, much to Ryan's surprise. The teen knew from the cartoon that he was a huge eater, but twelve bowls was ridiculous!

"Gym battle? Is there a league here in Sinnoh or something?"

"Yeah! Look," Ash pulled a case out from his pocket. He opened it, revealing seven varying badges.

"Seven badges?" Ryan remembered something about needing eight badges to compete in a tournament.

"One more, and I get to compete in the Sinnoh League!" Ash said with excitement.

"That's awesome!" Ryan replied. A thought occurred in his head. "The Sinnoh League... but then, what's the Grand Festival?"

"Hey, Dawn, are you challenging gyms too?" Ryan decided to ask.

"Me? No, I'm a coordinator!" Dawn replied.

"Coordinator? What's that?" Ryan was stumped. He had never heard of a coordinator before.

"Wait, so that means you don't know what contests are, right?" Dawn asked Ryan.

"Uh... I guess not." Ryan replied. Brock prepared to explain to the teen.

"You see, coordinators are trainers who focus more on bringing the inner beauty of their pokemon out in any way they can- by moves and certain appeals." Ryan nodded, following Brock's explanation.

"Coordinators all across Sinnoh compete in contests in order to earn ribbons, so they can enter the Grand Festival." Brock paused so Ryan could ask a quick question.

"So, it's like the league, in a way. How many badg- I mean, ribbons do you need to be in the Grand Festival?"

"Ta-da!"

As soon as Ryan asked, Dawn pulled out a pink case similar to Ash's and opened it, revealing five ribbons. All five varied in shape and color.

"Five ribbons?" Ryan asked.

"Yep!"

"Cool! Then whoever wins the Grand Festival is like a Master Coordinator or something like that." Ryan thought aloud.

"Well, I wouldn't say master, but maybe top coordinator." Brock suggested.

"Ahh. Sounds better than Master Coordinator." Ryan said.

_"Contests sound awesome to watch! If I get a chance, maybe I should watch one."_ He thought.

"By the way, Ryan, do you have any plans?" Brock asked suddenly.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"What are you going to do? From what you've told us, it seems like you're stuck here for a while." Ryan's heart sunk a bit.

"No worries, I know what I'm gonna do- find a way back, no matter what!" Ryan finished with a thumbs up.

"Yes, but what do you plan on doing in the meantime? You've met pokemon that seemed attached to you- you can't just leave them."

Ryan looked back at the sleeping Eevee and Squirtle. Brock was right- he couldn't just abandon them. That, he knew he could not, and would not do. But, what could he do? It's not like he could bring them back home- his dad would freak out. If the pokemon had a home, Ryan had no idea where it would be. Ryan thought about the dilemma, with a hand to his chin.

"Well... I have no idea, to be honest."

"Why don'tcha travel with us?" Ash came in, his fullness almost seemed to have subsided in a manner of minutes. "The more, the merrier, I  
always say!"

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Dawn added. Brock nodded his head in agreement.

"Really?" Ryan asked.

"Sure!" Ash answered. "Besides, we could help you find a way home!"

"Well, you don't have to go out of your way to do that..." Ryan objected. He quickly added, "Why don't I go to wherever you guys are headed? S-Sunny..."

"Sunnyshore City." Brock finished.

"That's fine with me." Ryan agreed.

"Well, alright then." Brock yawned. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to sleep."

"Alrighty Brock, night!" Ash said as Brock walked over to his sleeping bag.

"Sleep tight!" Dawn added before she yawned. "I'm sleepy too... I'll see you guys in the morning." Piplup hopped onto the ground, looking tired as well.

"Okay, good night, Dawn!" Ash said.

"Yeah, good night!" Ryan added. Dawn waved back to the both of them and disappeared into her pink tent with Piplup following her. Ash started gathering dishes when Ryan cut in.

"I can take care of the dishes while you get some shut eye, Ash." Ryan suggested.

"Really? Thanks, but I don't wanna leave ya hangin' like that..."

"No, it's fine! Especially since you guys are letting me travel with you."

"Well, alright..." Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder with a small yawn. "Night!" Ash said before walking towards his sleeping bag.

"Night." Ryan replied. A wide smile lit up his face- he was going to travel with his childhood hero! Who could say they've met and travelled with their childhood hero? But, looking at the dishes, his smile dimmed a bit.

_"Hmm... how do I wash dishes without water? Then again, it was stew, and the bowls don't look too dirty... I could just wipe 'em down..." _Ryan agreed with himself.

A rag sat on the side of the table, unnoticed until now. Ryan grabbed it and started wiping the bowls until they were "spick 'n span". A few minutes passed as Ryan continued cleaning the bowls when he heard soft footsteps.

"Hey Ash- Ryan?" He turned around and saw Dawn in her pink pajamas and her hair down.

"Oh, hey Dawn. What's up?"

"What's up? I was gonna ask, why are you doing the dishes? It's Ash's turn..." There was an order?

"Oh! Uh... I volunteered for this. Besides, I get to travel with you guys, so this is the least I could do."

"Well... okay, I'm going to get some sleep. Bye!" Dawn walked back to her tent to sleep.

_"Huh. That was a bit weird." _Ryan continued washing the dishes. Another few minutes passed. The teen finished his last dish and placed it on the stack, which laid on the table. Stretching his arms, Ryan relaxed.

_"Phew, that's done. Now, let's see..."_

Ryan took his pack from his back and dug his sleeping bag out. He walked over to the extinguished campfire and laid his sleeping bag down. The teen took his black windbreaker jacket off, leaving his white T-shirt on. He placed the windbreaker in his pack. Ryan then took his shoes off and slipped into his sleeping bag.

_"Boy, am I tired..."_ The teen closed his eyes in order to drift to sleep. Only... he couldn't sleep for some odd reason. He reopened his eyes to stare at the night sky. Stars graced the night sky.

_"Why can't I sleep? Who am I kidding? I can't sleep, especially since-"_ Ryan's thoughts were interrupted by small sounds, almost like footsteps. The teen rose from the sleeping bag.

"Huh? Dawn, is that you?" Ryan turned, only to have Eevee jump onto him and lick his cheek.

"Ha-ha! Hey Eevee!" Ryan had an alternate eye open as Eevee kept licking his cheek. He noticed the other Eevee walking up to him as well.

"Hey!" Ryan greeted Eevee.

"Vee!" _(Hi!)_ Eevee bowed his head.

"You were great earlier! Especially with that attack, man it was powerful! Great job!" Ryan complimented Eevee.

"Vee?" _(Really?)_ Even though Ryan couldn't understand pokemon... yet, he could kind of tell what Eevee just said.

"Yeah, you were great!" Ryan noticed the other Eevee had stopped licking his cheek.

"Oh, you were too! Thanks for listening to me, especially since that was my first battle."

"Vee, eevee!" _(Yay, me too!) _She licked Ryan's cheek once more.

"Guys, is Squirtle awake?" Both Eevees looked at each other and then shook their heads.

"Hmm..." Ryan got out from the sleeping bag and slipped his shoes back onto his feet. "I'm gonna go check on Squirtle."

"Eevee." _(Me too.)_ Ryan and the two Eevees went over to where Squirtle was resting earlier. Squirtle was still asleep.

"Looks like Squirtle's sleeping alright." Ryan thought aloud.

The Eevees agreed with a nod.

"We'd better get some sleep, Squirtle's probably gonna be asleep until morning." The teen suggested to the pokemon.

"Vee." _(Okay.)_

"Hmm? What's..." A strange sound appeared suddenly. Ryan looked up- a giant net was dropping on him and the pokemon! The net entangled the teen, Squirtle, and the Eevee. Then a large metallic hand grabbed the net like a bag, lifting it into the air. The Eevee, Ryan, and Squirtle were squished together at the bottom of the net as a result.

"What the-" Ryan struggled to look upward through the net due to the Eevee wiggling on top of his face. A small look of a green basket confirmed who it was.

"Plan Snatch 'em up was a charm!" Meowth popped his head over the edge to see the catch of the day. He held a walkie talkie in his paw, and talked into it.

"Jessie, James! You ready for Phase Two?"

_"Roger, ready for Phase Two!"_ A male voice spoke through the walkie talkie. The teen overheard the conversation.

_"Phase Two? What's Team Rocket planning..." _Ryan thought.

Team Rocket's balloon floated over to another clearing, and the hand dropped the net into a large cage, roughly twice of Ryan's height and three times that for the width, with the ceiling open. The teen struggled to throw the net off.

"Quick, we gotta-" Too late. Meowth closed the cage ceiling with the free metallic hand.

"Dang." Ryan threw the net off of him and the pokemon.

"You guys alright?" He asked the two Eevee.

"Vee!" _(Yeah!)_ They both answered.

"Squirt." _(Fine.)_ Squirtle brushed his arm off.

"Squirtle's awake? Considering the tossing and turning that happened in the net..." Ryan shrugged as he thought. He turned to Meowth, who just landed the balloon and hopped out.

"Hey! Let us go!" The teen figured it would be worth a shot.

"Uh-uh, twerp." Meowth waved his finger. "Three primo rare pokemon for da boss will make dis Meowth, a happy Meowth!"

"Squirtle squirt squirtle." _(You sad excuse for a pokemon.) _Squirtle said with contempt. Meowth's ear twitched.

"Eh? What was dat?" Meowth growled angrily and walked up to the cage bars. Ryan had no clue what Squirtle had said. However, he noticed Meowth had understood what Squirtle said perfectly, which made an idea pop into Ryan's head. Even though he knew he should have come up with an escape plan, this took precedent over escaping- temporarily, of course.

"Hey Meowth, even though you kidnapped me and the pokemon, I need a favor." Meowth dropped the angry look and wore a puzzled one. This was new- A twerp asking for help.

"Could you translate what these guys say for me? I need to ask them something." Ryan asked.

Meowth paused and thought for a bit. Could it hurt to tell the twerp a few words?

"Sure kid." Meowth agreed. It couldn't hurt. Ryan nodded and then turned to the three pokemon in the cage with him.

"Squirtle, I have to ask something." A small pause followed before Ryan continued. "Why are you..." What were the right words to use? Ryan felt Squirtle somewhat trusted him, but...

"Why are you hesitant to trust me?" The teen felt like there was a better way to phrase the question, but he hoped Squirtle answered this one. The tiny turtle crossed its arms and turned the other way.

"Come on Squirtle, say... something." Ryan said, which seemed to bare some fruit, since Squirtle spoke.

"Eh? Squirtle said 'somethin'!" Meowth translated. Eevee walked over in front of Squirtle and started talking with him.

"She's askin' 'Why are you being so mean?'" Meowth paused as Eevee continued talking. "And... 'If you don't tell him, I will.'"

Eevee left Squirtle and faced Ryan. She said something, along with her brother.

"They said they'll start from da beginning! And dat it's gonna be a long story." Ryan nodded and sat down, cross legged, preparing for the story. He didn't care if it took an hour or two- as long as he knows why... Eevee started talking and Meowth translated.

"She's sayin' her brother, and Squirtle came from Kanto."

"You guys are brother and sister?" Ryan looked between the two Eevee. He noticed one looked slightly bigger than the other one.

"They're sayin' yeah, and she's sayin' they had a mommy back home."

"But then... why are you guys here?" Eevee froze up, so her brother cut in and spoke.

"He's sayin' dat it all started one day when him and his sister were playin' around and bumped into a guy," Meowth looked a bit surprised.

"They didn't know at da time, but da guy was a Pokemon Hunter!" Ryan could fit an association with the words pokemon and hunter. He knew what a hunter was back home. Eevee continued.

"And he said dat he was a researcher who was lookin' for Eevee, and not to capture dem." Eevee seemed to have a falling tear sliding down his face as he continued. His sister started sobbing on the ground of the cage.

"Hey..." Ryan picked the sobbing Eevee up and cradled her in his arms. "It's okay..."

"Nope," Meowth seemed to be saddened as well. "They led da' guy to their mommy... and he turned her into a statue and took her away." A small silence followed as the translation sunk in. Ryan was mortified- how could someone be so... heartless? His free fist clenched up, and his face was flushing with anger.

"How... could someone be so cruel?" The teen was enraged by the idea of this Pokemon Hunter.

"Dat's not all," Meowth was fighting back tears as well, but listened on to Eevee.

"He's sayin' he tried to catch dem too!" Wasn't it enough to seperate a family? Eevee motioned over to Squirtle, who still had his back turned. Meowth seemed to recoil slightly.

"And he's sayin' dat Squirtle was da Pokemon Hunter's pokemon!" Ryan's eyes widened as he looked at Squirtle, who seemed to shrink a bit at the mention of the Pokemon Hunter. Eevee kept speaking, while Meowth translated.

"Da hunter nearly got dem, but... he saved dem." Meowth pointed to Squirtle. The tiny turtle had its back towards Ryan, with its arms crossed.

"And... he abandoned the hunter to take care of da Eevee." Meowth finished translating. It was a lot to take in for Ryan. Eevee was still crying in his arms, while her brother was tearing, but retaining his composure. Squirtle still faced the other way. Even Meowth felt like tearing up. Ryan felt a push to ask one more question.

"Squirtle, what I don't get is... why did you run from the Pokemon Hunter?" A brief silence followed the request before a reply came from Squirtle.

"Huh? Squirtle's sayin'... it's a long story."

"But-" An explosion behind Meowth stopped Ryan's question. Everybody turned their attention to two figures with fizzled hair, who were frantically running towards Meowth.

"Meowth! We gotta go!" James yelled to Meowth.

"What happened to da' mecha? It was twerp proof!" Meowth astonishly asked.

"Tell that to the twerps!" Jessie pointed behind her. Ryan peered through the cage bars- the cavalry had arrived!

"Ash!" Ryan called out. Ash was running along with Dawn and Brock at his side. Pikachu was on his shoulder, and the electric mouse looked ready to blast a certain trio into the sky. The trio stopped in front of Team Rocket and the cage behind them.

"Hey, there's Ryan!" Dawn pointed to the cage he was trapped in.

"Yikes! We better grab da' pokemon and split!" Meowth suggested to his cohorts, who nodded in agreement.

"Quick, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash said.

_"Thunderbolt!"_ Pikachu shot a yellow bolt from his body towards the trio of thieves. James and Meowth seemed panicked, but Jessie remained calm and pulled a Pokeball out.

"Wobbuffet, use Mirror Coat!" Jessie threw the enlarged Pokeball out in front of the Thunderbolt attack. A blue pokemon with a strange face appeared and had a faint purple barrier around it. The Thunderbolt hit Wobbuffet and bounced back!

"Pikachu, look out!" Ash called out to his buddy. The electric mouse ducked down at the last second to dodge his own attack. The ground absorbed the Thunderbolt.

"So, what now twerp?"Jessie crossed her arms and smiled. Dawn set Piplup on the ground.

"Piplup, use Whirlpool!" A giant vortex of water spun from out of Piplup's beak. The vortex widened at the top. Piplup shot the Whirlpool towards Team Rocket.

"Ah-ah, Wobbuffet, Mirror Coat!" Jessie commanded. Wobbuffet wore the same faint purple barrier around it as the Whirlpool collided and bounced off like a pinball.

"Ah- Piplup, look-" Dawn couldn't finish her warning as Whirlpool hit Piplup with double the force it originally had, sending the penguin pokemon backwards and onto the ground.

"It wasn't very effective, but it still hurt Piplup!" Brock noted as Piplup slowly got up.

"What can we do? Wobbuffet is sending all of our attacks back at us!" Dawn asked.

"I know- Mirror Coat won't work on physical attacks!" Brock said as he remembered.

"Alright, Pikachu use Iron Tai-" Brock stopped Ash from finishing his call.

"Wait! What about Counter? It blocks physical attacks and sends them back with double the damage- just like Mirror Coat!"

"That means we can't do a thing!" Ash said.

* * *

Ryan was watching the battle occur outside of the cage. The Eevee in his arms was watching, along with her brother, and Squirtle. When Mirror Coat and Counter were mentioned, Ryan knew he needed to help. But how? Squirtle wouldn't listen to him, Eevee didn't know any explosive attacks, except... Ryan turned to the Eevee next to him.

"Eevee, can you use that one move from earlier? We gotta help Ash and the others- they're trying to rescue us!" Eevee knew his limits. He could fire Shadow Ball only a few times a day, and afterwards, the energy would dissipate as he tried to focus it. But, considering what Ryan said...

"Vee." _(Yeah.)_ Eevee gave a determined grunt and stood in front of the cages. Bits of dark energy started to gather in front of Eevee's mouth, forming a small sphere.

_"S-Shadow-" _Before Eevee could fire the Shadow Ball, the gathered energy fled, dissipating the dark sphere. A sudden drain of energy made Eevee pant heavily.

"Eevee, you alright?" Ryan asked. "I know you're tired- I know the feeling, trust me, but you've gotta push yourself!" Eevee panted while looking up at Ryan.

"You gotta trust me- please! For them," Ryan pointed towards Ash and the others battling Team Rocket, and then at Eevee's sister and Squirtle.

"I'll even help-" Ryan started kicking the bars repeatedly, even though it didn't damage them in the slightest. The teen then tried to ram the cage, to no avail as well. Then he tried a running start from the other end- it didn't work either!

_"I never thought I'd say this, but I'd rather take on a three hundred pound guy right now..."_ Ryan thought, remembering football practice.

"Gotta keep going!" And the teen kept trying to break out of the cage as the female Eevee cheered him on, and Squirtle looking on with an unreadable look.

Eevee looked on at the human- he was right! He needed to get his sister and Squirtle out of the cage. Eevee felt... something stirring inside of him- like something had been awakened due to the human and his small pep talk. He stared through the bars and at the night sky. Inadvertently, he noticed the crescent moon hovering in the sky. He was always afraid of the moon, but... the feeling Eevee felt now, wasn't fear.

"Huh? Whoa!" Ryan noticed a glowing behind him. There weren't any lights in the cage! He found the source- Eevee was basked in a white light, with his silhouette changing shape and growing.

"Hey, look!" Dawn noticed the glowing coming from the cage Ryan was in. Team Rocket, Ash and the others stopped their battle to see the commotion.

"Eevee's evolving!" Brock said aloud.

The white glowing faded to reveal a larger version of Eevee. This new pokemon was black like the night, with glowing gold rings on its ears, tail, and legs.

_"Umbreon!"_ The newly evolved Umbreon wasted no time in forming a Shadow Ball. The dark particles came together nearly three times faster than before and formed an even bigger ball of energy.

_"Shadow Ball!"_ Umbreon fired the ball at the cage bars. The Shadow Ball broke through the bars- and kept going towards Wobbuffet! Jessie was too busy watching the evolution take place, so she couldn't issue a command to counter the attack. The Shadow Ball hit its mark, but didn't affect Wobbuffet. However, it did distract Wobbuffet from one thing...

"Pikachu, quick, Iron Tail!"

Pikachu sprinted towards Wobbuffet, who turned a complete one-eighty as Shadow Ball travelled towards it, and jumped up into the air with a glowing tail.

_"Iron Tail!"_ Pikachu swung his tail as he fell onto Wobbuffet. The Iron Tail sent Wobbuffet flying back into Team Rocket and into their balloon.

"Alright, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash pointed at the balloon.

"Piplup, use Hydro Pump!" A powerful stream of water shot out from Piplup's beak at the same time Pikachu unleashed a Thunderbolt. Both attacks headed straight for Team Rocket, who knew what was coming next.

**BOOM. **

"Grr... why is it always our plans never go the way they're planned?" Jessie asked as she soared in the air with James, Meowth and Wobbuffet.

"I don't know!" James answered.

"I know one thing though-" Meowth stopped.

"It looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" The trio said together as they disappeared in a twinkle.

* * *

"Wow, Eevee, is that you?" Ryan asked Umbreon. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his Pokedex, opening it in order to learn about the new pokemon.

**UMBREON: THE MOONLIGHT POKEMON. WHEN EXPOSED TO THE MOON'S AURA, THE RINGS ON ITS BODY GLOW FAINTLY AND IT GAINS A MYSTERIOUS POWER.**

Ryan closed the Pokedex and pocketed it.

"You must have evolved!" Ryan couldn't help but say 'duh' in his head as he said that.

"Bree." _(Yeah.)_ Umbreon turned from looking at Ryan and looked at Eevee and Squirtle. Both wore shocked looks on their faces. Ryan noticed and decided to let them talk.

_"Brother?" _Eevee remembered something about evolving- a pokemon may lose memories as they evolve. She worried that Umbreon wouldn't remember who she was.

_"Hmm?"_ Umbreon responded. Eevee had drooped ears and looked down, saddened. He had forgotten...

_"What's wrong sis?"_ Umbreon finished. Eevee looked up quickly.

_"You didn't forget me brother?" _Umbreon shook his head.

_"Of course not! What made you think that?"_

_"N-nothing..." _Eevee finished.

_"Umbreon-"_ The moonlight pokemon looked at Squirtle. _"I thought you didn't want to... you know."_

_"I know." _Umbreon replied.

_"And, you were afraid of the moon..."_ Squirtle noted.

_"I know."_

_"Then why?"_ Squirtle asked.

_"Because... the human-"_ Eevee cut in.

_"His name's Ryan!"_ The name seemed to flow smoothly into Umbreon's ears.

_"Ryan... I'm sure he's the one he was talking about now!"_

_"You mean that old human?"_ Squirtle knew what Umbreon referred to.

_"Wait, the old guy?" _Eevee also remembered and realized, _"Does that mean you trust Ryan too?"_

_"I do. You too?"_ Eevee nodded. _"So... why haven't you evolved too?"_

_"I don't know- how did you?"_

_"Well..."_ Umbreon recalled faint memories before he evolved. _"Ryan was giving me a pep talk... and I looked up at the moon, and next thing- I evolved."_

_"So if I look at the moon,"_

_"Wait!"_ Umbreon said.

Eevee looked up at the crescent moon in the sky, but nothing happened.

_"Huh? I'm not evolving!"_ Eevee noticed. _"That's weird."_

_"Who knows why you can't... you'll evolve when the time's right. At least, that's what the old human said." _Squirtle said.

"Ryan, you alright?" Ash asked as Ryan came up to him, Dawn, and Brock. Ryan noticed Dawn was in her pink pajamas, while Ash wore his blue jeans and a white undershirt, and Brock was missing his vest.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Ryan answered.

"Well, looks like your Eevee evolved!" Dawn said.

"Yeah, into an Umbreon!" Something puzzled Ryan though. "But... I don't know how or why Eevee evolved into an Umbreon."

"It could be because your Eevee must have looked at the moon while it was in the cage." Brock started to explain. "But that alone couldn't have triggered the evolution."

"Well, whatever it was, I'm glad it happened. Hey, guys!" Umbreon, Eevee, and Squirtle all turned to see Ryan with Ash, Dawn, and Brock a few feet away. They walked up to Ryan.

* * *

"You guys done talking? I figured I should leave you guys to talk."

The pokemon nodded.

"Alright!" Ryan gave a thumbs up to them. Pikachu and Piplup hopped from their trainer's and went up to greet the newly evolved Umbreon.  
The teen gave a yawn and stretched his arms.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm dead tired..."

Umbreon, Eevee, and Squirtle gave agreeing cries.

"Yeah, we'd better get back and sleep if we're going to get to Sunnyshore City." Brock said.

"Let's go!" Ash said as he, Dawn, Brock, Ryan, and the pokemon walked back to the camp.

* * *

The night sky. It's full of twinkling stars just sitting there. I would have never seen this in the city, although, the hill by the lake on the outskirts of town... I'm digressing.

I was underneath my sleeping bag once more after stopping Team Rocket... once more. I looked next to me- Eevee was cuddling up to the sleeping bag while Umbreon lay next to her. Squirtle was asleep, withdrawn in his shell. The funny thing? Even though Squirtle supposedly doesn't trust me, he's laying right next to my head. Right…

I smiled a bit. I know I got through to Squirtle, but I guess I have to give it some time... after all, after hearing about their predicament... I slowly put my hands behind my head as I thought about the day's events. A lot has happened in a few hours.

A need jolted through my head, giving me some energy. I slowly got up and out from the sleeping bag- can't disturb the pokemon- and slipped my shoes on.

My backpack lay on the ground next to three other packs. I went up to my pack to search for something. I had no idea what I needed, but I felt like I needed to... record memories somehow. I dug into the pack and instantly found what I needed- the notebook and pen from earlier.

I closed the pack and sat on a log, next to the extinguished campfire. A drive to write kept me awake. I started writing the moment I opened the front cover.

_Day 1- Forest (Unknown)_  
_  
I left Taylor and Carter alone for their alone time and thanks to an old man's suggestion, I went into a fortune teller's tent. She apparently needed a spare orb, and led me back into the back room to help. All I remember was putting that small orb into that hole, the white opening, and about... Arc-something. Next thing I know- an Eevee is licking my cheek. Yes, that's right. I didn't know it at the time, but I was definitely in another world. At first, I did think the two Eevee and Squirtle I met were probably robots or something, and I was probably stuck at some weird anime convention out in the middle of nowhere or something like that. Boy… that was a dumb thought._  
_But, anyways... the Eevee seemed to warm up to me instantly, but Squirtle seemed to distance himself from me. At the time, I had no idea, but Squirtle once belonged to a Pokemon Hunter who captured the Eevees' mother... I don't know the details, especially since a commotion stopped Team Rocket's Meowth from translating for me. I should explain later._  
_  
Eventually, thanks to the Eevee, we ran into Team Rocket. Yes! The very same from that Saturday morning cartoon, Pokemon! And guess whose Pikachu they were trying to steal? The one and only Ash Ketchum's! We helped him and a girl named Dawn out of their jam and blasted Team Rocket off. You know, now that I think about it, the redhead- I think her name was Misty? Wonder what happened with her? And a side note, Dawn seems... I don't know, familiar somehow? Call me crazy and all, but I just get the feeling._  
_  
Squirtle was poisoned from the battle, so Ash and Dawn led me to Brock. Him too! He's quite the breeder, like the cartoon says! You know, maybe this world is the cartoon? Then- wow. People might be watching this? Reading about this? Nah. I'm probably getting paranoid. I doubt it's the cartoon- life can't be sketched out like this. Its close, but no cigar. Again, I'm wandering off. Anyways, after Brock cured Squirtle's poisoning with a Pecha Berry, I sat down with them and talked. I almost let it slip that Ash and Brock were stars on Pokemon back at home. That... would have been a disaster. I'm definitely keeping it a secret._  
_  
We all decided to get to bed, and I saw Ash and Pikachu preparing to do the dishes. To be honest, I felt kind of bad, like a freelancer, so I felt the need to help him out. He went to bed while I took care of the dishes. Dawn showed up randomly, probably looking for Ash. Don't know why, but who knows? It's her business. She went back to her tent afterwards._  
_  
After finishing the dishes, I decided to sleep- to no success, since Eevee jumped on me and started licking my face. Does my face really taste that good? I hope not. She and her brother woke up from their nap, and I decided to see if Squirtle was awake. Team Rocket came from out of nowhere and caught us in a net, lifting us up into the air and putting us in a cage. I take it back- getting out of a net looks a lot easier in a cartoon, I mean, they just wiggle when they can just lift the thing up!_  
_  
And that's when I found out small bits of information about the two Eevee and Squirtle. I convinced Meowth to translate their words for me. A hunter captured the Eevee's parents and tried to capture them too. Squirtle, even though he was the hunter's pokemon, helped the Eevee escape. And ever since, Squirtle's been taking care of them. That's all I got as the cavalry arrived. Ash and Dawn were struggling against Wobbuffet. I talked to Eevee to try to get it to do that attack with the swirling dark energy- wait, the Pokedex said Shadow Ball. Eevee looked tired, but he was the only chance of getting out of the cage. Suddenly, Eevee glowed and evolved into Umbreon! Umbreon busted through the cage with no sweat and distracted Wobbuffet as Ash and Dawn sent Team Rocket packing again._  
_  
After another Team Rocket blast off- they should patent the term 'blast off'- I let the pokemon talk for a bit- Squirtle and Eevee seemed a bit shocked at Umbreon. While they did, I asked about Eevee's evolution. Brock told me that the moon usually triggers the evolution, but that probably wasn't the only reason. Whatever he meant, I'm glad Eevee evolved when he did. I called the pokemon and we all went back to the campsite to sleep. Before I did, I scanned Umbreon for his attacks, and found out he could use Shadow Ball, Quick Attack, Sand- Attack, and Bite. Then, we all tucked in and fell asleep... most of us anyways. I'm still awake, dead tired, but awake._  
_I'm a mix of emotions right now. The gang said they were headed for Sunnyshore City for a Gym Battle- I finally get to see one live! Dawn is preparing herself for a Grand Festival- I definitely wanna see this! But... Carter, and Taylor. I need to get back to them as soon as I can. Problem is... how? All in a nutshell, I'm stuck in the Pokemon World with no way out- at least, not yet anyways. Even if I found a way out tomorrow... I can't leave yet. Not when someone needs help finding their mother... I'm still looking for mine too. All I know is, I'm not leaving until I find Umbreon's and Eevee's mother and get her back from that Pokemon Hunter. How? I'll cross that bridge when I get to it._

I stopped writing and yawned. It was time to wrap this up.  
_  
Okay, so in the past few hours, I-_  
_  
Woke up in the Pokemon World;_  
_  
Met Ash, Dawn, Brock, Team Rocket;_  
_  
And I've decided to travel with Ash to Sunnyshore City._  
_  
Maybe I'll be able to find out more about Sinnoh once we're there... for now, I'd better get to bed._  
_  
_I closed the notebook and got up from the log. I walked over to my pack, opened it, and put my notebook back in. I closed the pack and slipped my shoes off again to get into my sleeping bag. I settled in and looked around. Ash was asleep with Pikachu next to him. Brock also slept in a sleeping bag. I couldn't see Dawn, because she slept in her tent. I shrugged, and just peered into the starry sky once more. I had to get back to my world, but after I helped Umbreon and Eevee.  
_  
"The adventure begins... tomorrow." _


	8. Back to the Basics! Part 1

**12/31/10- This is the revised content edition of the first part.**

**

* * *

**

I looked down from on top of a hill that overlooked a grassy field. There was barely a cloud in the sky, which let the sun shine brilliantly. A calm breeze met my face as I peered down the path, seeing a serene sight of a town.

"Well, here's our stop, Arrowroot Town!" I heard Brock say, behind me.

Brock stopped next to me along with Ash and Dawn. It felt weird being the tall one for once- Brock was the tallest between him, Ash and Dawn, and Brock was a few inches shorter than I was. Ash and Dawn looked like they were at the same height; around five feet and an inch or two?

Pikachu was perched onto Ash's shoulder and Piplup was being held by Dawn. A happy look seemed to appear on their faces as they both cried out in apparent delight to the news of arriving at a town; I still can't understand pokemon language. Umbreon brushed past me along with his little sister, Eevee.

When Team Rocket captured Umbreon, Eevee, Squirtle and me, Meowth conveniently translated the Eevees' words for me. They told me they were running from a Pokemon Hunter that tried catching them. In fact, that's where Squirtle came from- the same Squirtle that didn't trust me. Honestly, even though I don't know the details, I don't blame him, I mean, how would it feel to have to do a Pokemon Hunter's bidding? I turned to my right shoulder where Squirtle rode.

"Squirtle, how do you feel?" I asked him. Squirtle gave a plain look and gave a thumbs up. Guess he said he was okay. I wanted to try to connect with him, but I guess it would take more than a shining sun and a beautiful grassy scene to do that. I tried thinking of something that would help me connect with Squirtle better, when something stirred me out of my thoughts.

"Vee!" I saw Eevee jump up at me. I knew what she was gonna do; lick me to death. Luckily, I caught her with my hands before she reached my face.

"_That was close..." _I thought as I narrowly escaped a slobbery fate.

"Aww, I still think that's cute." I turned to see the blunette holding Piplup and turned back to face Eevee. Dawn did have a point; Eevee was kind of cute. Her brown eyes looked innocently into mine, and her soft fur reminded me of one of Carter's cats, but that's another story.

"Well, anyways, since you're up here, want a ride?" Eevee nodded and jumped onto my left shoulder.

"Hey, Brock, where's the Pokemon Center? I'm starving..." That's Ash, thinking with his stomach and as if on cue, it growled lowly. The others and I chuckled at the signal for food.

"It's near a research facility, somewhere on the east side of town." Brock said after looking in the guide book he was holding.

"Well, let's go!" Ash said, and Pikachu shot his arm up in agreement. He ran off, leaving me, Dawn, and Brock in the dust.

"Hey, wait up Ash!" Dawn, with Piplup in her arms, started running to catch up to him. She struggled to keep up with Ash.

"Wait!" Brock did the same, leaving me looking at Umbreon, wondering what we should do.

"I think we'd better go too." Umbreon nodded as I suggested the idea and we both ran in pursuit of Ash.

* * *

"Here we are, the Pokemon Center!" Brock said as the gang came up to the Pokemon Center doors. Ryan stared up at the giant red P over the front doors of the center, which was enormous.

The doors to the Pokemon Center were transparent, and appeared to slid open automatically due to a motion sensor near the bottom of the doors. The Pokemon Center rose to a couple of stories, but the length of the building was staggering. In comparison, it was about a quarter of the length of a football stadium back at home, for Ryan. The exterior walls were mostly filled with alternating tan and brown colored bricks.  
_  
"Wow, so this is a Pokemon Center," _Ryan thought as he and the others walked through the sliding doors.

The interior was no slouch either! It reminded Ryan of a hospital back at home, but more homely, so to speak. A flat screen TV hung on a taupe colored wall with brown colored couches lined up in front of the TV, to the right of the entrance. An area to the left of the entrance had a bunch of tables and seats for lunch and where the gang was right now was the lobby, in front of the reception desk, where a pink curly haired woman stood. She donned a nurse's outfit with a white hat that had a red cross on the front. The woman turned from her work on the computer and welcomed the gang.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center!" The woman greeted with a warm, welcoming voice.

"Oh!" Brock wasted no time getting to the reception desk. He quickly, but gently, grasped onto the woman's hands. Ryan looked on at the sight, dumbfounded he found another similarity between this Brock and the one back in the cartoon.

"Hello, my love," Ryan could have sworn Brock's eyes changed to a cheesy handsome version as his voice grew into a cheesier love tone.

"I welcome you to my heart, where you'll find-" Brock was cut off by a sudden purplish glowing arm that jabbed him on his back. Ryan jumped at the sudden appearance of a blue frog-like pokemon with white stripes on it's belly, and two orange spots on it's cheeks that seemed to be for breathing.

"Pain... lots of it..." Brock finished as he fell to the ground. The blue frog-like pokemon Ryan saw seemed to laugh as it dragged Brock outside. Ash and Dawn gingerly laughed as Ryan was left a bit confused.

"Uh... was that, Brock's pokemon?" Ryan asked Ash and Dawn, who finished their gingerly laugh.

"That was his Croagunk," Dawn told him.

"Croagunk, huh..." Ryan pulled his Pokedex out from his right pocket and opened it to get information on Croagunk.

**CROAGUNK: THE TOXIC MOUTH POKEMON. FLUID SQUEEZED FROM ITS FINGER, ALBEIT POISONOUS, IS A SIGNIFICANT INGREDIENT IN REMEDIES FOR LOWER BACK PAIN.**

_"Well, that'll do wonders for Brock's back..."_ Ryan thought on the positive side. Considering Brock was a bit preoccupied, Ash walked up to the reception desk for him and asked Nurse Joy,

"Nurse Joy, what my friend was really askin' was if we could get a room for tonight?"

"Why of course!" Nurse Joy reached below the desk and pulled out a key attached to a small metal ring with a wooden block, with the number nine and a Pokeball symbol etched into it, attached to the ring as well. "Here's your room key." Nurse Joy handed the room key to Ash. "Room nine is down the hall to your left. And there will be two bunk beds for the four of you." She explained.

"Oh, I thought it was the one on the right?" Ryan asked Nurse Joy.

"That hall to the right leads to the rooms where we treat pokemon, and a few Operating Rooms." She explained to Ryan, who nodded at the explanation and thanked her.

"Thanks! And could you check our pokemon out?" Ash asked Nurse Joy.

"Of course, let me take your pokemon for a checkup," Nurse Joy brought up four trays with six sphere indents in them. Ash placed his five Pokeballs in one tray and Pikachu hopped onto the desk. Dawn also put her four Pokeballs in another tray, and Piplup jumped onto the desk; only to face plant himself on the desk. Brock popped out, out of nowhere and with renewed energy, and followed with his three Pokeballs in another tray. Ryan looked at the fourth tray and had a problem.

"Um, Nurse Joy, what if I don't have any Pokeballs?" Ryan asked her.

"You can have your pokemon follow me for their check up," Nurse Joy told him. Ryan nodded as he set Eevee and Squirtle gently onto the wooden floor to walk.

"Okay guys, Nurse Joy's gonna check on you guys, alright?" Umbreon nodded, Squirtle gave a small grunt, and Eevee had a sad look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked, even though he knew the answer already. Eevee stared at him with a whimpering look, not wanting to leave Ryan. "It's okay," Ryan assured. "I'll be here waiting for you later," Eevee forcefully nodded and hopped onto the desk along with Pikachu and Piplup. Umbreon and Squirtle walked around the desk and to Nurse Joy.

"I'll have them back to you in an hour." Nurse Joy said to the gang. Three pink, round pokemon with white eggs in their front light pink pouches came and took the trays of Pokeballs and led the pokemon to the right corridor. Nurse Joy followed along.

_"Hey, those are Chansey!"_ Ryan realized. They looked a lot smaller in person than he anticipated, as they reached halfway up to Nurse Joy's height. He decided not to pull his Pokedex out, since it was one of the original 151 pokemon that he was familiar with, and turned to Ash and the others. Now they needed something to do while Nurse Joy was doing a check up on the pokemon.

"Well, let's go check out the room!" Dawn suggested. There were no objections, so the four of them started walking towards the hall to the left of the reception desk, passing by a number of empty lunch tables.

"_I wonder if anyone else is here, besides us?"_ Ryan thought as he noticed the emptiness of the area next to the lobby. He stopped for a quick second and looked at he other side to see if there were people there- no one in sight, and the TV was off.

"_I guess not..." _Ryan thought as he saw no one in sight. The teen turned to follow the others to the room where they were going to stay for the night. He caught up with the others as they traveled down the door filled hall. The wooden doors had brass knobs and were spaced accordingly, allowing for room between guests. On each door, a brass number labeled each door, which allowed people to tell which room was which. The color scheme matched the lobby, as Ryan noticed.

The gang stopped in front of the door marked with a brass number "9". Ash unlocked the door with the key in his hand, grasped the brass handle and twisted it counterclockwise. He pushed the door open, revealing a spacious room; like a hotel, Ryan compared.

The room marked number "9" contained two bunk beds with wooden frames that resembled Birch wood. The bunk beds were on opposite sides of the room, leaving a small table in the middle of the room. The table held a small vase with various flowers with the petals still in bloom. An unopened window with white drapes was opposite of the door. Sunlight shone through the window, allowing the gang to see in the room. It provided a, no pun intended, roomy atmosphere.

"I call the top!" Brock and Ash called out as they rushed to their "reserved" spots.

"Okay, I'll take the bottom," Dawn said as she placed her pack on her bed, took off her white beanie hat and placed it on the bed. Ash climbed to the top bed above Dawn's, placed his pack on his bed and came back down. Brock did the same with his pack, only on his bed. Ryan placed his pack on the bottom bunk, below Brock's.

"Well, what do we do now?" Ryan asked, now that they were accommodated.

"I have to run out and buy some supplies; we're running low on food and medicine," Brock said as he grabbed a paper that listed each individual supply he needed to purchase.

"Okay Brock, see ya later!" Ash waved as his friend went out through the door.

"See ya!" Brock said as he closed the door to the room. Ryan overheard Brock's outer thought through the door about asking Nurse Joy about the nearest Poke Mart. An idea from earlier today popped into Ryan's mind. He planned on doing something as soon as they stopped at Arrowroot, and now that there was some downtime, Ryan reasoned now would be the perfect time.

"Hmm... I'm gonna go out for a bit guys," Ryan said suddenly.

"Huh? Where?" Ash asked, curious as to why he was about to leave all of a sudden.

"Well, I'm gonna find out more about Sinnoh, and... about that Pokemon Hunter," Ryan explained to Ash as he turned, after opening the door, and looked at him.

Ash and Dawn both looked at each other and recalled a conversation from lunch they had with Ryan. They immediately understood and nodded.

"See ya guys!" Ryan waved as he left the room. Ash and Dawn both said the same as he closed the door.

* * *

_"Okay, so... I wonder if this town has some sort of library or something..."_ Ryan thought as he walked through the corridor full of wooden doors and past the reception desk. Nurse Joy had returned from treating the pokemon and now sat at her desk.

"_Wait, didn't Brock say he was gonna ask Nurse Joy for directions to a Poke Mart?" _Ryan realized he should probably ask Nurse Joy to avoid being lost in town. He stopped and did a U-turn before he went out the door to ask Nurse Joy a question.

"Nurse Joy, do you know if there's a library, or some sort of database, in Arrowroot?" Ryan felt a little silly asking about a library; especially since the last time he went to one was when he was a little kid, in primary school.

"Yes, there is one next door in the research lab, open to the public. It'll take you a few minutes to get over there, however." She explained as she pointed to her right, or Ryan's left side.

"Alright, thanks!" Ryan went out through the doors of the Pokemon Center as they slid open for him. He looked in the direction Nurse Joy pointed and saw a tall building in the distance. Ryan figured since the Pokemon Center was in the outskirts of Arrowroot, judging from the lack of buildings next to the Pokemon Center itself, that building was the research lab that Nurse Joy was talking about. He started a brisk walk towards the building.

Along the way, Ryan laid eyes upon fields of grass, with occasional windmills and barns with shades of red painted on. The slight wind pushed the green grass in a slow motion in one direction, adding to the soothing and calming atmosphere of the path. The defined dirt path Ryan took led him past a couple of men. They both wore blue, jean overalls and both wore plaid long shirts underneath them. They also wore brown work boots and also work gloves that matched in color. The men appeared to be between the ages of thirty to forty, judging from the color and life filled mustaches and beards that the men had. Ryan noticed that they were around his height. As he passed the two men, he wondered if he was headed the right way, considering Ryan was busy looking at the scenery.

"Uh, excuse me?" Ryan asked as he walked back and up to the two men.

"Yes, young man, how can we help you?" A gruff voice from one of the men asked.

"I was wondering, where is the research lab?" Ryan asked.

"It would be that way," The other man answered, with a slightly higher voice than the other man, and pointed towards the direction Ryan was traveling already.

"Okay, thank you!" Ryan thanked as he prepared to go on the dirt road and waved good bye to the two men. At least he knew he was going the right way, Ryan reasoned in his head.

After a couple of minutes, Ryan approached the laboratory. The research lab was, Ryan estimated, approximately four stories high. The grey building, possibly made out of concrete, had the same sliding glass doors as the Pokemon Center did. Large windows were side to side, next to the front doors, showing a hotel lobby-like interior. Ryan went through the sliding glass doors as they opened, going into the front lobby of the lab. A woman, who had blond hair rolled up in a bun behind her head looked at Ryan as he approached her reception desk, which neatly contained a computer, various papers, and other objects.

"Uh, excuse me?" Ryan asked the woman. Now that he was closer, Ryan got a better look at her. She looked no older than twenty, her skin had a hint of tan, and she was dressed in a black work skirt with a red top, covered by a white lab coat. An identification card was clipped onto her bosom pocket, with her photo, and her name, Emily.

"Is there a library here?" Ryan continued to ask. Emily turned on her revolving chair and pointed to a hallway, to her right. A flight of stairs, with handrails in the middle of them, led up to the hall Emily pointed to.

"It's down that hall," Emily told him. "If you go straight up the stairs and straight through the hall- don't go through any of the doors on the side- the library will be there. The hallway will open up at the end, where it is, so you won't be able to miss it." Ryan took mental notes of her directions.

"Oh, okay. Thanks!" He thanked and went up the flight of stairs. Ryan noticed the floor and stairs were made out of marble, which gave a slight gleam. It also explained the slight echo Ryan heard as he was talking to Emily. As Ryan went disappeared from Emily's sight, she thought to herself.

_"Wow, no one's used the library in ages; save for Matt, oops, I mean professor. I wonder what that kid's doing?" _Emily shrugged, turned her revolving chair so she faced her computer once more in order to continue her work.

* * *

Ryan walked through the hallway Emily pointed him to, noting the presence of a red rug with yellow trim stretching down in the middle of the hallway. The rug lining was like a guide. A few wooden doors were on each side of the hallway, each leading to their own room; some of which were locked or restricted, due to the presence of a keypad lock.

As Ryan approached the end of the hallway, he saw the opening that Emily was talking about earlier. He emerged onto an open floor, with another rug lined hallway to his right. The two floor library was like a college campus' library; there was a window on the ceiling that acted as a skylight, letting the sunshine reach the wood plank floors of the library. The planks gleamed from the light. Ryan even noticed a chandelier at the very top of the high ceiling. A set of stairs led down to a bottom floor, which contained many wooden bookshelves, crammed with books of various sizes and thicknesses. The bookshelves were lined up next to each other in rows, ready for browsing.

Ryan looked at the floor he was currently on. The open floor of the library revolved around the bottom floor. The same type of brown stained wooden bookshelves lined up in rows graced the top floor of the library. There were brass colored labels, with what looked like numbers, on the ends of the bookcases, but from where Ryan was standing, he couldn't read them. He reasoned they were numbers for a system that made it easy to find books whenever needed.

"_I wonder if there's an easier way of finding information..."_ Ryan thought as he went down the flight of stairs and towards the center of the bottom floor of the library. He looked around, only seeing the many wooden bookshelves, and the various wood trimmings on things like the railing on the stairs and the side rail on the top floor that prevented people from falling. Ryan decided to walk around the bottom floor and look around.

_"You'd think a place called a lab would have- Hey, what is that?" _Ryan noticed a screen in the corner of the room, that was hidden by the masses of bookshelves. As Ryan came closer to the screen, he noticed a small platform that held up a silver "querty" keyboard and a computer mouse of the same color.

"_This must be a computer..." _Ryan pieced together as he looked at the screen. A black screen saver was showing with the words in white, "Arrowroot Laboratory", scrolling across the screen. Ryan "woke" the computer up by shaking the mouse, revealing a search engine window for the laboratory. A blinking line sat in the box meant for typing search criterion.

"_Now, what should I type in? I might find the Pokemon Hunter, but what could I do when I get him? I still don't know how to battle... Ooh, I got it!" _Ryan started typing on the silver keyboard. When he was done, the words, "pokemon basics" remained in the text box. Ryan pressed the enter key on the keyboard, leading to a spinning circle, indicating the computer was searching the system. A message popped onto the screen.

_"No matches found? Huh?" _Ryan was a bit confused. _"I'd think a library in the Pokemon World would at least have a picture book on pokemon..."_ Ryan looked around at the plentiful bookshelves. _"Maybe it's searching for specific matches, and not general matches?"_ Ryan guessed as he looked around on the computer screen.

_"How do I find a preference menu?"_ Ryan gave up after a few seconds of scanning the screen and decided to type another search criterion, "pokemon for dummies". Ryan hit the enter key and thought, _"If something comes up, I'm gonna-"_

**One match found.** The text popped up and a second later, the information on the book, "_Pokemon for Dummies_" appeared as well.

_"Never mind..." _Ryan was dumbfounded a book like that made it's way to a scientific library. He shook it off and examined the information.

_"Let's see... 133.52."_ Ryan looked at the edge of the nearest bookshelf. A brass plaque on the edge read, **"50.01-60.00"**

_"Well, I think I'm better off looking manually. And I'm positive I'll find that book... eventually."_ Ryan sighed as he turned around, preparing to tediously walk around, searching for information.

* * *

"Your pokemon are healthy and fighting fit!" Nurse Joy said as she transferred the trays of Pokeballs from her cart to the counter. Pikachu and Piplup were sitting on their trainer's respective trays. Pikachu leapt from the counter and onto Ash's shoulder and Dawn held Piplup on her head.

"Thanks Nurse Joy!" Ash and Dawn said as they re-clipped their Pokeballs onto their belts.

_"Ryan?" _Eevee was on the counter, looking apprehensively around for the teen. Umbreon was standing on the floor in front of the counter, looking up at his sister. Squirtle leaned back on the siding of the desk with his hands behind his head.

_"Told you he couldn't be trusted,"_ Umbreon gave Squirtle a sturdy nudge to his shell in reaction to his cold statement.

_"You know you don't believe that," _Umbreon knowingly said to him and looked up to Eevee._"Besides, he's probably checking something out," _Umbreon reasoned out for his sister, who hopped down next to him.

Ash looked over at the three pokemon and figured they were wondering where Ryan went. He called to them, "Oh, guys!" Eevee, Umbreon and Squirtle looked up. "Ryan went to look for information or somethin'..." Ash explained to them. Nurse Joy overheard Ash's explanation and jumped in.

"He's next door at the Arrowroot Lab; They have a large library full of resources," Nurse Joy said. Eevee wore a smile, now that she knew Ryan hadn't abandoned them and Umbreon wore a smug look on his face and looked at Squirtle.

_"Told you so." _Umbreon said to Squirtle, who faced the other way, hiding his embarrassment. First he let that human called Nurse Joy examine him, and now... He couldn't be growing to trust Ryan... could he? Squirtle shook off the thought- he couldn't be!

_"Squirtle, is something wrong?"_ Eevee snapped Squirtle out of his thoughts.

_"N-nothing."_ He quickly regained his composure. Eevee just shrugged her head and moved on.

_"I wonder when Ryan's gonna get back?"_ She thought out loud. _"What's he doing over at a library, anyways?" _Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder and onto the ground next to Eevee. Piplup followed suit and gracefully landed on his feet... but that was before he slipped and face planted himself.

_"Ow..." _Piplup rubbed his pain filled face with his wing as he got up.

_"You see, this morning, when Ash, Dawn, Ryan and Brock were having breakfast,"_ Pikachu explained as Eevee, Umbreon and Piplup were attentively listening.

"_Squirtle, don't you want to listen in?" _Eevee asked Squirtle, who simply shrugged and faced away from the group of pokemon, leaning on the reception desk with his arm. However, Squirtle was secretly listening, even though he pretended he didn't care.

_"Ash and Dawn asked him about what happened with Team Rocket..."_ Pikachu continued on with his story.

* * *

_"Brock, even though I've had only a couple of your meals, I'm convinced- you're the best chef ever." Ryan happily said to Brock as he finished the delicious breakfast on his plate._

_"Gee, thanks! Although it's a stretch to say I'm the best," Brock humbly shrugged off. He had seen plenty of praise for his cooking skills before._

_"No way Brock! He's right!" Dawn agreed with Ryan's compliment. Ash nodded; it was all he could do, since he was busy scarfing down breakfast. Pikachu and Piplup were eating on top of the table along with their trainers while the rest of the pokemon ate on the picnic blanket. They nodded and gave a thumbs/wing up. _

_Brock just shrugged once more and accepted the compliments and went to clean the pans he used to cook breakfast. Dawn looked back at the pokemon eating at the picnic blanket. They looked overjoyed at the sight of the new pokemon. Eevee and Umbreon looked like they were conversing with Buneary and Cyndaquil. Squirtle was acting cool and stayed separated until Buizel walked up to him and started chatting. Dawn smiled at the sight; pokemon never ceased to amaze anyone. A thought popped into Dawn's head. She was curious as to what happened when Team Rocket captured Ryan the other night._

_"By the way, Ryan..." Dawn started her question as Ryan turned his attention to her, while drinking some water. "What happened last night? It looked like you were talking to Meowth before we got there..."_

_"Yeah, I remember that; what was that about?" Ash added as he swallowed a mouthful of breakfast. Ryan finished his glass of water, set it down on the foldable table they ate on and began to explain to her and Ash._

_"Well, I asked Meowth to translate their words, as I asked them questions." Ryan pointed to Squirtle, Umbreon and Eevee, who were still relaxing with the other pokemon on their picnic blanket._

_"Questions? What about?" Ash and Dawn asked, curious to why Ryan needed to ask Eevee and Umbreon anything._

_"I... wondered why Squirtle didn't exactly throw down the red carpet like the Eevee did," Ash and Dawn wore a slight confused look on their faces as Ryan used the expression. The teen took the hint and explained himself. _

_"Why Squirtle didn't warm up to me like they did." Ryan explained, and a sigh of realization hit Ash and Dawn as he continued._

_"So, I asked why didn't he trust me, and he didn't answer. But, the Eevee told me parts of the story." Ash and Dawn listened more attentively as he began relaying the story. Pikachu's ears twitched as he also listened while Piplup was chowing down, too busy to listen._

_"They told me they had a mother back in Kanto, but she was taken away by a Pokemon Hunter..." Ryan's fist tightened at the mention of the Pokemon Hunter._

_"That's awful!" Dawn commented._

_"But that's not all; it turns out, Squirtle was the Pokemon Hunter's pokemon!" Ryan went on._

_"Really?" Ash asked._

_"I think so. Tears from a pokemon, or anyone for that matter couldn't be faked... not like that." Ryan said as he remembered Eevee crying into his arms. His fist loosened its grip on the spoon he held; any tighter and there'd be a spoon imprint on his hand. _

_"Anyways, the Pokemon Hunter tried to catch the Eevee too, but apparently Squirtle stopped him and ran away with the Eevee. I would've found more out, but Jessie and James cut in..." Ryan finished._

_"Wow..." That was the only thing said afterward by Dawn. Pikachu followed with the same thought. Astonishment filled the air around the breakfast table._

_"And they ended up in Sinnoh... I wonder how?" Ash thought aloud._

_"Yeah, I do too, but I know one thing; I'm gonna help them find their mother!"_

_"Really?" Brock came up and sat down. He was listening in on the conversation and decided to come I with a thought of his own._

_"Yeah! I know what it's like to not have a mother- and I can't stand the thought of Umbreon and Eevee not seeing theirs." Ryan answered without thought. Brock crossed his arms and looked at Ryan._

_"Did he just say what I think he said?" Dawn thought, but she dismissed the thought._

_"Like I said before, do you have a plan?" Brock asked Ryan._

_"Well..." A semi-solution popped into Ryan's head. "I could look for some information in the next town we stop in!" He answered, even thought he had no idea if there would be anything to look for._

_"It sounds like a great idea, but who are you going to research on?" Brock pressed on, knowing Ryan had no clue._

_"That's easy; the Pokemon Hunter." Ryan answered, not realizing what Brock meant._

_"No, what I meant was... who is the Pokemon Hunter?" Ryan knew Brock was right; without the hunter's name, it was like finding a needle in a haystack. Brock knew he got his message across as a worried look appeared on Ryan's face as Ryan looked at the pokemon playing on the picnic blanket._

_"But, then again, how many Pokemon Hunters could there be?" Ryan thought with a wondering look on his face._

* * *

_"Afterward, we arrived here in Arrowroot." _Pikachu finished his recollection.

_"The human; Ryan's actually trying to help them out?" _Squirtle thought to himself.

_"He really said that?" _Eevee delightedly asked Pikachu.

_"Yeah, he even said that he wouldn't go home until he got you guys back to your mother." _Squirtle nearly fell over hearing that.

_"Okay, but is he gonna follow through on that?" _Squirtle turned around and asked. The group of pokemon looked at Squirtle while Eevee wasted no time in responding.

_"Of course! I know he meant it!" _Squirtle looked at Eevee and at Umbreon, whose face was unreadable.

_"You too?" _Squirtle asked Umbreon, who nodded.

_"I believe him." _Umbreon answered with conviction. Squirtle couldn't believe how easily they could trust Ryan. He somewhat trusted Ryan, but a part of him still had doubts. Ash and Dawn were watching the pokemon talk in the meanwhile, and Ash decided to jump in after none of the pokemon talked for a few seconds.

"Hey guys," Ash started to ask."Wanna go next door to see Ryan?" Eevee jumped up and down, Umbreon nodded, and Squirtle grunted, believing he needed to be their bodyguards, just in case.

"Okay, let's go!" Dawn said as she picked Piplup up and held him. Pikachu hopped back onto Ash's shoulder and the group left the Pokemon Center through the sliding front doors. The group started walking on the same dirt path Ryan traveled on earlier.


	9. Back to the Basics! Part 2

**Revised Content Edition of Back to the Basics! Part 2; December 31st, 2010.**

**

* * *

**

_"Hmm... Pokemon Forensics." _Ryan thought as he skimmed through a book he was holding. Various graphs and pictures of different objects lined the pages Ryan looked at. A Meowth paw was missing it's Meowth in one picture, for example. Other pages had statistics on pokemon used in organized crimes and domestic crimes using pokemon. The book would be a goldmine for a rising pokemon criminal, as it also contained case files of the most notorious criminals in the Pokemon World.

_"Sounds interesting, but I need more stuff on battling." _Ryan closed the book and set it on top of a stack of ten books. Pokemon for Dummies was the next book for Ryan to read; he actually found it after a painstaking hike through the entire library, twice. The book had a stereotypical nerd with twirly glasses on the front with the orange colored spine and cover.

_"I'd better read that last..." _He thought as he put Pokemon for Dummies aside. Ryan was sitting at a table on the bottom floor of the laboratory library, after spending time finding books, sifting through books he deemed valuable to his cause. Some of the books he chose weren't even related to battling; one of them was a dummy's guide to breeding. Ryan immediately put that book aside the moment he saw it.

The next book was titled, _"Mysteries and Legends of Sinnoh". _The book looked like an ancient volume, due to the brown leather covering and the fancy metal corner coverings. A red ribbon meant to be used for a bookmark was found on the inside cover as Ryan flipped it open. It turned out the book itself wasn't ancient, as publishing information was found on the inside cover.

_"Hmm..." _Ryan debated reading the book. He was reading strictly for battle information, but he reasoned reading about a little myth couldn't hurt. Ryan turned to the table of contents, which held the following,

_Chapter 1-_ _Mysterious Birds_

_Chapter 2- The Legend of the Three Heroes_

_Chapter 3-_ _Legendary Nightmares _

Ryan quickly skimmed the first three chapter titles and decided to turn to the first chapter to begin reading, as the title caught his attention.

_Mysterious Birds?_

_Seafoam Island, an abandoned power plant, and a long forgotten cave near Indigo Plateau. What do these places have in common? At one time or another, three legendary pokemon had called those places home._

_"Whoa. That must mean-" _Ryan's eyes widened in realization as he recalled his younger days with his gameboy.

_The three legendary birds of Kanto; Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres have dwelled in those places._

Ryan recalled times when he was playing Pokemon on his game boy as a little kid. He remembered the painstaking task of catching those three legendary pokemon. Ryan also remembered asking Carter for help after accidentally making Zapdos faint repeatedly.

_"Wow... that was a long time ago. And I think I only caught Articuno..." _Ryan rolled his eyes with a smirk in amusement at the recalled memories and continued reading.

_The authors of this book have not seen the legendary pokemon up close and have relied on a number of eyewitnesses- many were travelers who were either stranded or lost in these areas._

_An eyewitness attempting to climb Seafoam Island was separated from her climbing party as a blizzard raged. She recalled a fuzzy figure of a large blue bird with long tail feathers landing next to her as she collapsed and lost consciousness. She also said when she woke up, she was out of the blizzard and next to the ocean. Her party found her in one piece- she suffered from minor hypothermia, but otherwise she was fine. We also had a talk with the party members. They recalled a faint blue figure flying into the mist above the Seafoam Islands. Now, people reading this book may ask, "Why have the writers of this book not gone to see this mysterious figure?" First of all, the figure is theorized to be the Freezing pokemon, Articuno. Second, the stranded woman was the last person to catch a glimpse of Articuno, nearly ten years from when this book was published. However, the Seafoam Island in Kanto is not the only place where Articuno roams. While most eyewitnesses of these legendary Kanto pokemon were indeed in Kanto, a few people have reported descriptions matching Articuno in Sinnoh._

_"Really?" _Ryan's interest was stirred.

_It appears Articuno has left Kanto to roost in Sinnoh. As far as the authors know, nothing has repelled Articuno from its home- Seafoam Island was left alone after the climbing incident. It is unknown as to why Articuno has come to Sinnoh, and for how long. If one were wanting to maybe catch a glimpse of Articuno, they would have to travel up north towards Snowpoint City, home to frigid temperatures. It's also worth noting Articuno was also sighted in other rural areas around Sinnoh._

Ryan stopped reading and put the book down on the table. A legendary pokemon he knew was wandering around Sinnoh?

_"It'd be nice if I caught a glimpse of Articuno sometime... although I'd better focus on the task at hand." Ryan _thought as he re focused on Eevee's and Umbreon's dilemma. He closed the book, set it on top of his _"Read This Later_" pile, grabbed the orange Pokemon for Dummies book and opened it. The prologue was the first page within the book.

_Before you begin reading Pokemon for Dummies, make sure you understand one thing- a book will not be the deciding factor in making you a better trainer. This book will act as your crutch as it teaches you the basics- this is not a substitute to an Academy! Remember, the world of pokemon changes with new discoveries made every day. If you are in the region of Sinnoh, see Professor Rowan- he is a great mentor of mine and can help out beginning trainers with their questions._

_"You have to go to an academy to become a Pokemon Trainer?" _Ryan thought as his heart slightly plummeted. A thought crossed Ryan's mind; didn't a person have to be a trainer to keep a pokemon?

_"I wonder if I can even keep Eevee and- wait." _The teen quickly lifted his head from the book and turned his head back and forth, frantically looking for a clock.

_"Oh no! What time is it?" _Ryan's gaze found a grandfather clock next to the staircase he came down in. Since Ryan already faced the stairs, he looked at the hands on the face of the grandfather clock.  
_  
"Six thirty? I completely forgot!" _He got up in a panic, left the _"Pokemon for Dummies"_ book on the table and began his brisk walk up the stairs. Ryan sped up through the hallway he came through earlier, almost to a jogging speed! He went down the flight of stairs leading past Emily's desk and out the front door.  
_  
"Oh man... guys, hang on..." _Ryan was so focused on getting back to the Pokemon Center that he nearly ignored a call from Emily. She noticed the panicked look on Ryan's face as he came up to her.

"What's up with you?" Emily asked Ryan.

"I gotta go get my pokemon, I'll be back later;" Ryan quickly said and went through the sliding doors of the lab. Ryan's legs moved him a few steps after the doors closed, but he didn't look at where he was going, since he ran into a man.

"Oh! Sorry!" Ryan apologized as he realized what he had done. Neither Ryan nor the person was knocked down. Ryan looked up at the person's face; he was somewhat taller than the teen, about six feet tall. A man with white hair and a rough look stared down at Ryan. The man wore a brown trench coat and a brown hat. Ryan gulped as the man answered.

"_Whoa, is it just me or does he look... mean?"_ Ryan couldn't find the right words to describe the man's "air".

"Its fine, I suppose. Be wary of your surroundings next time." The man said, surprising Ryan.

"Thank you! I'm really sorry, I really am! I gotta go and get-" As Ryan was explaining himself, and backing up, a familiar brown catlike pokemon jumped onto him, knocking him off of his feet due to Ryan not expecting it, and made him land on his bottom.

_"Ryan!" _Eevee started to happily lick Ryan's face like he was a long lost brother.

"Eevee! What- are you doing here?" Ryan asked while being licked. He looked up through Eevee's licks to see Umbreon and a lagging Squirtle coming up to greet him. Squirtle grunted a small afterward and pretended to shift his attention to a bush nearby. Umbreon and Squirtle stopped in front of Ryan and next to the man.

_"Hi Ryan!" _Umbreon greeted him, who was still being attacked by Eevee's tongue. The man in the trench coat looked at Eevee, Umbreon and Squirtle and knelt down to look at Umbreon. Umbreon simply looked at the stranger, wondering what he was looking at. Was there something on his face?

"Hmm..." He said as he examined Umbreon. The man suddenly turned to Ryan, who was still on the ground fighting off the invasion of the slobber, and asked him a question.

"Is this Umbreon yours?" The man asked in a tone that seemed to say he didn't tolerate nonsense. Ryan laughed from the tickling of Eevee's tongue an begged her to stop. Eevee obliged, considering he was needed by some stranger.

"N-no, I just met Umbreon yesterday," Ryan answered as he sat up from the ground and the man raised his eyebrow.

"You met an Umbreon out in the wild of Sinnoh?" The man was intrigued by Ryan's answer.

"W-well, Umbreon was an Eevee when I met him," Ryan patted Eevee on her head, let her on his shoulder and got up to his feet to see a hint of astonishment on the man's face.

_"That would mean that the Eevee evolved no less than twenty four hours ago! Hmm..." _The man thought in equal astonishment shown on his face.

"Are you by chance a trainer?" The man asked Ryan, not able to recall Ryan's face from his memory.

"Me? I-" Ryan was cut off by a boy with a Pikachu on his shoulder and a girl with a Piplup in her arms coming up to them and calling out to him. He noticed the girl didn't have her white beanie hat on her head now, which allowed her long, tamed blue hair to show. A couple of yellow hair clips held a couple of bangs to the side of Dawn's face.

"Hey, Ryan!" Ash and Dawn came up to him and the man, who turned at the call. A warm smile emerged onto the man's face as he looked at Ash and Dawn, recognizing them immediately.

"Ash! Dawn! Pleasure to see you." The man greeted. Ryan was a bit surprised; the man knew them?

"Professor Rowan!" Dawn and Ash recognized as they came up to him and Ryan.

"You know them?" Ryan asked Professor Rowan, in surprise.

"Of course! Professor Rowan gave me my first pokemon; Piplup!" Dawn answered for Professor Rowan. As if on cue, Piplup hopped out of Dawn's arms and greeted Professor Rowan with a wave of his wing.

"Why, hello Piplup, you look well." Piplup nodded and stood in his proud stance with his wings at his sides.

"Professor Rowan, what're you doin' here?" Ash asked as he noticed a warn, brown briefcase in Rowan's hand.

"I am here to assist an old student of mine with his lecture on the evolutions of pokemon." Professor Rowan answered.

"An old student?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, in fact, he is a recent student from a few years ago," Professor Rowan peered down at his raised wrist, which had a wristwatch that read a familiar time to Professor Rowan.

"I have an appointment to make, so I will see you later," Rowan waved good bye as he turned to go through the sliding glass doors.

"Okay, bye Professor Rowan!" Dawn and Ash said farewell to Professor Rowan.

"Oh, bye!" Ryan quickly said. As soon as Rowan went into the lab and the doors slid to a close, Ryan looked at Eevee on his shoulder. "Sorry I nearly forgot about you guys," Ryan apologized.

_"It's okay," _Eevee nuzzled a bit into Ryan's cheek, signifying that he was forgiven. Umbreon did the same to the side of Ryan's leg. Squirtle, just stood facing away with his arms crossed, grunted and shook his head up and down slowly.

"Thanks guys," Ryan was glad they had accepted his apology. He wasn't sure if Squirtle was really accepting his apology, or if he was chastising him. Ryan shrugged in his head at the thought and turned to Ash and Dawn. "And you guys too! Who knows how long I would've spent in there reading if I did forget them?"

"No need to worry!" Dawn gave Ryan a thumbs up.

"Yeah, no biggie." Ash added. "Did you find anything?" He asked Ryan.

"All I found were books on," Ryan recalled, in his head, the various books he had discovered in the lab's library. He answered, with his hand to his chin, and as they came to mind,

"Let's see... most of them were about battling and basic trainer knowledge and a few were on the history of Sinnoh and other places. Wasn't anything about hunters though," Ryan couldn't remember the rest of the books he found; well, minus the odd pokemon breeding book, but he stuffed the thought. Squirtle's ear twitched a bit while he was still faced away from the group.

_"So, he really is looking for him." _The tiny turtle thought as he tuned in, listening to them.

"Nothing, huh..." Ash commented.

"By the way, what were you talking about with Professor Rowan?" Dawn asked Ryan.

"He was wondering if Umbreon was mine and if I was a trainer." Ryan answered. Dawn nodded as she heard.

"Oh, I'd better go and put the books away..." Ryan suddenly said.

"We'll help you out!" Ash suggested, in the interest of helping a friend. Pikachu raised his hand with a thumbs up.

"Yeah!" Dawn agreed.

"Thanks." Ryan thanked them for their generosity as the three of them walked past the sliding glass doors of the Arrowroot Laboratory as they opened, leading them to the lobby once more, and Emily.

"Are you alright? It's not every day you run into Professor Rowan, literally!" Emily asked Ryan, who stopped in front of her desk with Ash and Dawn. Umbreon and Squirtle stopped next to Ryan, both wondering who the woman was.

"Well, I'm fine; just gotta be a bit more careful," Ryan rubbed the back of his head in a tidbit of embarrassment; there was a light shade of red on Ryan's cheek for a slight moment before it disappeared.

"So, what made you rush out like that?" Emily asked, curious as to why Ryan nearly ran Professor Rowan over.

_"Me!" _Eevee cried out in response to Emily's question. A warm expression that was normally save for babies popped onto Emily's face.

"Aww, is that your Eevee?" Emily asked, with a melting feeling in her heart from Eevee's cuteness. Eevee suddenly nodded, answering Emily's question, but left Ryan and Squirtle surprised.

"I guess so." Ryan went along with Eevee's response, for ease of conversation. Sometimes it was better to go along with the flow, for the sake of being somewhat sociable; as Ryan recalled.

Emily was slightly confused by the lack of conviction in Ryan's answer, but dismissed it and asked Ryan a question. "Guess? Oh well, I understand; if I had a pokemon as cute as this little Eevee, I'd rush out too. What brings you back?"

Ryan recalled the time; six thirty. There was the possibility of Brock finishing up dinner preparations, so reading more was out of the question. There was only one thing to do."I was reading some books, and I figured I should put 'em back, you know?" Ryan told Emily who, in her head, approved of the responsibility he showed.

"Glad you think so. But, you can just leave the books on the return cart on the first floor of the library." Emily suggested. She figured she might as well cut the kid some slack; besides, she needed something to do later.

"Okay, thanks!" Ryan waved thanks. "Come on guys, this way!" Ryan motioned for Ash, Dawn, Umbreon and Squirtle to follow him up the flight of marble stairs, which led to the red rug hallway from earlier. Ash and Dawn both looked around the hall, both comparing it to labs they've been in before. Ryan led them to the opening where the library showed in it's full beauty.

"Whoa, this place is huge!" Ash said as he looked around the open floor of the library and bottom floor, where the sunset's light still lit up the floor, via the skylight window. Ash's eyes fell onto a stack of various colored books that looked like they varied in age as well. "Are those the books?" Ash got Ryan's attention and asked him as he pointed to the table Ryan sat at earlier.

"Wow, you already read all of these?" Dawn asked as she looked at the stacks of ten or so books.

"I skimmed through some of it, and read little tidbits," Ryan explained as they went down another flight of stairs that led to the bottom floor. They went up to the table with the stack of books and Ryan grabbed a few in his arms. "We'd better get started," He said as he peered around for the return cart Emily mentioned earlier.

* * *

_"Hmm... Conference Room Three..." _Professor Rowan thought as he walked through a hallway. Unlike the others, he went up the flight of stairs on the right, which led to a different section of the lab. Did Emily tell him to make a right at the intersection; or was it a left? Rowan tried to recall as he stopped in front of the intersection she mentioned about; there was one way that went to the left and one that went to the right. A red rug with yellow trimming graced the middle of the halls, as before. The red rug, unfortunately, went both left and right, so it wasn't able to help Professor Rowan out. Professor Rowan's eyes laid sight on a subtle sign with white lettering that almost blended in with the part of the sign had a white arrow pointing to the left with the label, "Library/Archives". The other part of the sign had a white arrow pointing to the right and was labeled, "Laboratory".

_"Why, he did say the conference rooms were past the library..." _Professor Rowan decided. He turned to the left and started walking down the hallway. Eventually, he approached the open floor of the library, where Ryan and the others were currently, unknown to Professor Rowan. The hallway Ryan and the others traveled through earlier was Professor Rowan's next stop; he recalled a few Professor Conferences being held in this part of the laboratory. Before he could take another step, A familiar male voice called out Professor Rowan's name from behind him, slightly echoing down the hallway.

"Hmm?" Professor Rowan turned around to see a young man coming up to him who looked like he was in his low twenties. He wore a white lab coat similar to Emily's, only his Identification Card showed his picture; brown short hair, hazel eyes, a medium width nose, and a silly pearly smile. His name, "Matt Maple" showed underneath the picture. The white lab coat covered a black long shirt and a bit of Maple's blue jeans. Professor Rowan recognized his former student and didn't waste anytime.

"Matt, I thought you were holding your lecture in the conference room?" Professor Rowan asked.

"Professor, its Professor Maple!" Professor Maple corrected Professor Rowan before continuing. "And I had to move the lecture to my personal lab; the conference rooms are scheduled for remodeling tomorrow."

"Surely you knew that beforehand." Professor Rowan pointed out as he "smelled something fishy". Matt twiddled his fingers, almost as if in nervousness. Professor Rowan decided it'd be best to save his questions for later. "Anyways, let's not waste time; you have a lecture that needs assisting?" Professor Maple nodded, glad his former mentor decided to let the issue slide; for now.

"Yeah, my lab is this way; hold up," Professor Maple noticed Ryan and the others carefully setting books onto the return cart they painstakingly found. "Who's that?" He also noticed a few pokemon along with them, who were helping them hold books.

"Why, that's Ash, Dawn, and their friend," Rowan noted aloud.

_"What're they doing there? I thought I told Emily not to let anyone go into the library..." _Professor Maple thought as he prepared to call out to them.

* * *

"Okay, here's the last one!" Ash handed a thin scarlet colored book, that Pikachu handed to him, to Ryan.

"Alright!" Ryan placed the thin scarlet colored book right side up on the return cart next to the numerous books he had pulled out.

"Well, that takes care of-" A male voice boomed out a cry, but only loud enough to the point where Ryan and the others could hear the voice clearly.

"Hey, kids!" Ash, Dawn, Ryan and their pokemon looked up towards the second open floor of the library. A man they weren't familiar with, Professor Maple, was calling out to them. The trio looked at each other with questioning looks and figured they should talk to the man and see what was wrong. They climbed up the marble stairs leading to the open second floor, where the Professor Maple stood with his arms crossed, and with a familiar face Ash and the others already knew.

"Hey, Professor Rowan!" Dawn greeted as she and the others noticed it was Professor Rowan standing next to Professor Maple, who decided to ask a quick question; his class was waiting on him!

"What are you doing? The library's closed!" Professor Maple hastily asked and explained.

"The receptionist didn't say anything like that," Ryan explained as he tried recalling, in his head, anything about Emily telling him the library was closed. Nothing even remotely close came up in his head.

"He has a point, Matt," Professor Rowan suddenly cut in before Professor Maple could say anything. "The receptionist did say the library was open, unlike you, who says it's closed." Professor Maple retraced his thoughts before realizing what happened.

"Oh, how could I forget to tell Emily?" He thought aloud and quickly rebounded to an apology. "I'm sorry about the misunderstanding, but yeah, the library isn't supposed to be open due to," Professor seemed to stop his explanation for an excuse. "The construction tomorrow," Ryan noticed the sudden stop, but decided to disregard it.

"Oh, okay. Wait, Professor Rowan; this is your former student?" Ryan turned to look at the white haired Professor Rowan and asked him.

"Why, yes. This is Matt Maple, a special-" Professor Rowan was interrupted by his former pupil, who seemed to not take a liking to his former mentor using his first name; like he was still his student!

"That's Professor Maple, professor!" Professor Maple sighed in annoyance and put his hands to his hips. He continued with a bit of monologue, recalling what he had said to his mentor a few years ago. "Jeez, I did say I'd become a professor and," Professor Maple's thoughts recalled why his former mentor was even visiting him. "Wait a sec; the lecture!" Professor Maple started to run down the hallway Professor Rowan traveled down earlier. "Come on, professor!" Professor Maple called back to his mentor as he rushed down the hall. Professor Rowan turned to Ash, Dawn, and Ryan, who were still absorbing what had just happened, with blank stares on their faces.

"I had better follow him, and if you would like, you may come along and listen to the lecture." Professor Rowan offered. Perhaps it would shine a better light on his former student, he reasoned in his head. With that, Professor Rowan turned with his brown briefcase in his right hand and went down the hallway he came from to follow his former pupil. The blank stares on the trio's faces were replaced now with looks of wonder. Ryan knew this was a rare opportunity.

_"He did say he was lecturing about pokemon evolutions, and maybe I could learn some more about Eevee's evolutions, instead of reading about it in a book!" _Ryan thought. He decided what he was going to do and turned to face Ash and Dawn, who were asking each other if they both really saw a young professor. "I'm gonna go to the lecture, how about you guys?"

Ash had a look on his face that practically said yes, while Dawn did, as well, but it dimmed when she looked down the hallway they came."It sounds great, but I feel kinda bad leaving Brock out of this," Dawn said as she thought about Brock and knowing that he'd probably want to listen in too. Ash put his hand to his chin for a split second, to think, and came up with a solution.

"We could go get him and come back real quick! He should be back at the Pokemon Center by now!" Ash suggested, snapping his fingers as if in a "eureka" moment.

"Yeah, it's not like shopping could take that long," Ryan said. He suddenly recalled shopping trips with Taylor and instantly wanted to take back what he had already said.

"We'll be back, see ya!" Ash, with Pikachu on his shoulder, and Dawn, with Piplup hopping into her arms, bi farewell as they walked back down the red rug lined hallway they went down earlier. Ash and Dawn both disappeared from Ryan's sight and when they did, Ryan turned to Eevee on his shoulder, than Umbreon and Squirtle standing on the ground.

"Okay guys, let's go!" Ryan said to Eevee, Umbreon and Squirtle as he started his walk down the hall Professor Maple ran down with his mentor in calm pursuit. The two professors were out of sight, however, meaning they had already reached their destination. Ryan thought about Professor Rowan, who he had just met moments ago.

_"Professor Rowan... come to think of it, I didn't even introduce myself, even though he probably wouldn't care much." _Ryan's old memories of his gameboy adventures told him of another professor her was all too familiar with._ "I wonder if there's a Professor Oak here? Eh..." _Ryan shifted from his thoughts as he came to the same intersection Professor Rowan ran into earlier. However, this time, since Ryan came from the library, the white arrow and sign labeled,_"Laboratory" _were pointing straight ahead from where Ryan was. The hallway Professor Rowan took from the front lobby was to Ryan's right noticed the sign and arrow pointing in the laboratory's direction, even though he nearly missed it due to the blandness of the color used on the arrow and lettering. He took one good look at the sign and figured,_ "That's where the professors went!" _

Ryan decided to go straight, following his hunch on where the professors went. He also recalled them talking about a lecture, various times. The way he chose made sense to Ryan as he wandered down the hallway with Eevee on his shoulder and Squirtle and Umbreon walking alongside with teen's thoughts wandered back to why he was in the library earlier as he walked past more keypad equipped doors with silver knobs.

_"I wonder if I can find info on the Pokemon Hunter. What was I thinking; looking inside of a book? I could ask the professors about this," _

An opening ahead of Ryan held a few doors, but one stuck out, as it was labeled, _"Professor Maple's Lab". _Ryan approached the end of the hallway and he found himself going into a spacious circular foyer, with the walls painted in a taupe color. There were dark brown doors, with silver knobs, spaced evenly around the circle shape of the foyer. Each room, Ryan guessed, probably led to a different part of the lab. Across from where Ryan stopped was a door that held a sign above it, labeled with the brass colored words, "Professor Maple's Laboratory".

"Here we are, come on guys," Ryan motioned for Squirtle and Umbreon to follow him across the foyer as he walked towards the closed door. He grabbed the silver door knob, twisted it counterclockwise, and slowly pushed the door open. Ryan stepped into the room, meeting many pairs of eyes, to his surprise. Professor Rowan and Maple stood in front of what looked like a college classroom. Professor Maple's Lab shared the same color scheme outside in the foyer. The walls were covered, however, with many posters, each variously describing aspects of pokemon. The parts that weren't covered by posters showed a similar shade of taupe like outside in the foyer as well. The ceiling was noticeably higher than the foyer, however, which made for more breathing room. Windows that stretched from bottom to top with black metal supports separating each separate window were on the opposite side of the door where Ryan came in. The windows also seemed a bit dim looking outside, leading to the assumption that they were tinted to the point where outsiders wouldn't be able to see inside the lab.

Ryan looked at the many pairs of eyes looking at him. Many of the owners of the eyes looks younger than he did, approximately three of so years younger. They were sitting in rows of raised seats that kept going up towards the back of the lab. A medium sized desk made out of what looked like aluminum stood at the bottom of the raised classroom; it probably was Professor Maple's desk, since he was the teacher, after all. A simple black computer stood on his desk, along with a standard black keyboard and computer mouse. It was indeed similar to a college classroom, more so than a laboratory. A polished tabletop stretched along each row of seated students, allowing for classwork to be worked on. Ascending stairs in the middle of the rows of seats split the class into two halves and allowed people to get to and from their seats. He noticed a boy with light brown hair and glasses, who looked a lot younger than the rest, sitting next to an older looking girl that wore a white fisherman's hat in the top back row. The many pairs of eyes staring at Ryan reminded him of Speech class and the uncomfortable feeling of the class seemed to return for a moment.

"Uh, hello...?" Ryan nervously squeezed out as the stares continued. The stares, unknown to Ryan, were ones out of curiosity, since they didn't recognize him. Some of the students reasoned it was a newcomer that wasn't from around town; some of the students were from various parts of Arrowroot.

"Why hello, young trainer." Professor Rowan walked up to Ryan greeted him, pleased that he took his offer on listening on his evolution speech. He then realized as he tried calling Ryan by his name that he had not properly introduced himself. "I didn't catch your name earlier, what is it?"

"It's Ryan." Ryan answered through a shroud of nervousness, from the stares directed at him.

"Ryan, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Professor Rowan," He extended his right hand out for a handshake, which Ryan returned. "I would like to ask you more about your Umbreon after the lecture, if you don't mind." Professor Rowan asked in a lower tone of voice as the two released their handshake.

"Sure, I- I don't mind. Do you mind if I listen in on the lecture?" Ryan managed to ask as he couldn't manage to shake the stares for much longer.

"I'm sure Professor Maple wouldn't mind, right Matt?" Professor Rowan turned to Professor Maple.

"I don't mind, you can find a free seat over there," Maple pointed towards a seat next to the young boy with glasses and the girl wearing a white fisherman's hat Ryan noticed earlier.

"Okay, thanks." Ryan walked up the stairs and over to the seat that Professor Maple pointed at while the uncomfortable stares followed him. As Ryan disappeared up in the back, the stares shifted back to Professor Maple in the front, relieving Ryan instantly. As Ryan pulled the seat back and sat in it, Eevee hopped down onto Ryan's lap from his shoulder and laid her head down. Umbreon sat upright next to Ryan and Squirtle stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the back wall..

"You guys can take a nap if you want." Ryan whispered to them, knowing the lecture wouldn't exactly appeal as much to them, if at all; even though it pertained to them to a certain degree.

_"Okay!" _Eevee nodded, acknowledging that she heard him, and closed her eyes, preparing to slumber through the lecture. Umbreon and Squirtle nodded, but stayed in their previous position. A nap in their position, and on the wooden floor?

"Psst! Hey." Ryan turned to the source of the whisper; the young boy with glasses was trying to whisper a suggestion to Ryan after seeing Umbreon, Eevee and Squirtle follow him up the stairs and to his seat. "Why don't you put your pokemon in their Pokeballs? I know what I'm saying; I'm Professor Maple's assistant!" The boy said with a hint of pride.

"Say what?" Ryan looked at the boy again; he didn't look any older than seven. Either he was fibbing, or he was one of those super-geniuses, Ryan reasoned. "Are you sure? I mean, you still look like a little kid." Ryan asked, which earned an annoyed/offended look from the boy.

"Hey! Don't call me kid! I'm eight years old!" The boy attempted to retort. Ryan laughed in his head, which made his face show a slight smirk.

"Yeah. You're still a kid." Ryan pointed out his age group. He and the boy started a whispering argument between each other, earning a condescending look from the girl with the white fisherman's hat sitting next to Ryan. The girl was about to grab the boy and tell him to knock it off, but Professor Maple looked at her and shook his head, meaning he had it.

"Don't-" The boy was interrupted as Professor Maple gave a warning cough that the boy knew was subtly directed toward him. As the boy and Ryan stopped and turned their attention back towards the front, Professor Maple started talking.

"Well, welcome to the Evolution Lecture by yours truly and a special guest; my mentor, Professor Rowan!" Professor Maple Rowan slightly bowed for a second as applause started. Ryan joined in on the applause before turning to the boy to ask him something, out of curiosity.

"Hey, why does it seem like Rowan is famous?" Ryan asked him. The boy seemed offended by the question and looked at Ryan like he was outlandish.

"You're kidding, right? Professor Rowan and big-" The boy seemed to cut himself off at the word big. "I mean, Professor Maple, are famous for their inter-dimensional research!" Ryan's eyes lit up when he heard the word, inter-dimensional.

_"Inter-dimensional research; does that mean...?"_ Ryan focused as Professor Rowan started talking. There may be a way home after all, Ryan reasoned, as he started to focus on the lecture and started to think of questions to ask the two professors afterward.


	10. Back to the Basics! Part 3

**Revised edition of Back to the Basics! Part 3; January 2nd, 2011.**

**

* * *

**

Professor Rowan began his lecture as soon as he cleared his throat. "As you all know, most pokemon have the ability to evolve under certain conditions," A student raised his hand and asked a question about what Professor Rowan was going to specifically talk about on evolution. Meanwhile, Ryan was thinking about the various ways a pokemon could evolve, relying on past memories with the old show and his gameboy adventures from long ago.

_"Yeah, by,"_ Ryan thought as he waited for the student's question to be answered. It was worth a shot, Ryan reasoned, trying to remember the various ways to evolve a pokemon. _"Battling, and I think something about a stone? Evolution stones?" _Ryan tuned back in as Professor Rowan finished answering the student's question with more than satisfactory information.

"Now, there are various ways to evolve a pokemon, but the main way is by battling side by side with your pokemon," Professor Rowan continued on in his rough voice.  
_  
"One for two."_ Ryan thought as he gave a slight smile due to Professor Rowan validating one of his guesses.

"By battling as partners, you will eventually gain your pokemon's trust in you and your ability to lead." Squirtle smirked at Professor Rowan's statement, mainly the part with gaining a pokemon's trust.

_"Like Ryan's ever gonna lead. Eevee got creamed by Seviper and I had to help her..." _Squirtle thought as he recalled the other night when Eevee fought Seviper under Ryan's leadership; whatever leadership there was, Squirtle laughed in his head._  
_  
"Another evolution method is when certain pokemon make contact with certain evolution stones," Professor Rowan helped validate another one of Ryan's guesses.

_"Two for two!"_ Ryan fist pumped in his head as he continued to listen to Professor Rowan.

"One thing to note; only _some_ pokemon evolve via stones. For example," Professor Rowan turned to his briefcase, which lay unopened on Professor Maple's front desk, and released a couple of brass latches that kept it closed, opening his briefcase. He pulled out an orange and yellow sun shaped stone and held it up towards the students so they could catch a glimpse of the object.

"This is a Sun Stone. If, say, a Gloom were to touch this stone, they would evolve into a Bellossom,"

_"Whoa. I've never seen that before,"_ Ryan thought as he examined the Sun Stone with his eyes.

"And this," Professor Rowan pulled a grey stone with a green leaf out from the briefcase with his other hand.

"This is a Leaf Stone. Using the same example for the Sun Stone, if a Gloom were to touch the Leaf Stone instead of the Sun Stone, the Gloom would evolve into a Vileplume."

_"I've definitely seen that before," _Ryan recalled the stone from the old cartoon. An episode involved one, but Ryan couldn't remember the details. However, something bothered Ryan._"Wait, since when could Gloom evolve into two different pokemon?"_ Ryan thought. He snapped out of his thoughts as a student in the front row of seats raised his hand.

"Yes?" Professor Rowan called on the student, who lowered his hand when he was called on.

"Um, professor, is it alright if I could use one of those stones to have my Gloom evolve?" The student asked with little expectation of a positive reply, however, that wasn't the case.

"Why of course," Professor Rowan nodded. He quickly added, "However, have you talked with your Gloom yet?" The student nodded his head in reply.

"Well then, I don't see why not. Have your Gloom come out." Professor Rowan motioned for the student to get up from his desk and walk up to the front, where the stones were, which the student did. The student pulled a Pokeball from his belt as soon as he reached the front, enlarged it and lightly tossed it into the air.

"Come on out, Gloom!" A small purplish plantlike pokemon with a maroon colored bud on it's top appeared from the Pokeball as it opened up. The Pokeball fell back into the student's hand.

"So, that's what a Gloom really looks like," Ryan quietly thought out loud as he pulled out his Pokedex from his pocket and looked down at it as it began talking. What he didn't know was that the girl with the white fisherman hat with a pinkish red line on the edge was staring between him and the Pokedex, and the boy with glasses from earlier looked at Ryan with a wide open mouth, in astonishment.

**GLOOM: THE WEED POKEMON. WHAT APPEARS TO BE DROOL IS ACTUALLY SWEET HONEY. IT IS VERY STICKY AND CLINGS STUBBORNLY IF TOUCHED.**

Ryan didn't realize how loud the Pokedex could be, as it echoed in the lab for the others to hear. The whole class, wondering what the noise was, turned to see what it was. Professor Rowan looked at the Pokedex Ryan was holding in his hand. Ryan closed the Pokedex and kept it out, figuring an evolution was going to take place. He turned his attention back up front, only to find a wall of stares facing him once more. Ryan felt uncomfortable, to say the least.

"_Are they gonna do that every time I do anything? I'm not Bigfoot." _Ryan thought._  
_

_"Strange, that looks like a Sinnoh edition Pokedex I give out to starting trainers,"_ Professor Rowan decided to stuff the thought until later and started to speak to the student standing in front, drawing everyone's attention to the front, relieving Ryan once more.

"So, young man, what will it be?" Professor Rowan held the appropriately named sun shaped Sun Stone in one hand and the Leaf Stone in his other hand in front of the student as he looked between them both and then at his Gloom, believing it should be up to his pokemon.

"Hey buddy, what do you think? I'll let you decide." His Gloom walked up to Rowan, who kneeled down so Gloom could pick a stone. The Weed pokemon looked back and forth between the Sun Stone and the Leaf Stone, debating which one to choose. Squirtle and Umbreon went over to the staircase in the center of the seats in order to watch Gloom make its choice. Gloom started glowing as soon as it reached over and touched the stone in Professor Rowan's right hand. The stone glowed and then disappeared, almost like it disintegrated.

_"It's evolving! Well, obviously."_ Ryan mentally slapped himself at the obvious remark he made in his head. The white glow stopped and dissipated to reveal a significantly smaller pokemon with what looked like a grass skirt with two shades of alternating greens and red flowers with yellow at the center of those flowers, on its head.

"It's a Bellossom!" The boy with glasses next to Ryan exclaimed.

"Bellossom?" Ryan looked down at the Pokedex in his hands as he opened it again, ready for information on Bellossom.

**BELLOSSOM: THE FLOWER POKEMON. BELLOSSOM GATHER AT TIMES AND APPEAR TO DANCE. THEY SAY THAT THE DANCE IS A RITUAL TO SUMMON THE SUN.**

_"I always wondered how they did that,"_ Umbreon said to Squirtle, as they heard the Pokedex entry for Bellossom. Squirtle didn't answer Umbreon's remark. _"Squirtle...?"_ Umbreon looked at Squirtle who had an apprehensive look on his face and a bead of sweat dropping from his head.

_"Squirtle, are you alright? You look like a Haunter scared you to death."_ Umbreon asked as he noticed how tense Squirtle became after the evolution.

_"I-I'm fine..."_ Squirtle looked away, avoiding Umbreon's gaze. Umbreon knew that wasn't the case, but he left it alone.

_"I wonder if this has to do with what Squirtle told me and my sis about the Pokemon Hunter..."_ Umbreon thought in curiosity.

The newly evolved Bellossom started to happily dance almost like a hula dancer, celebrating it's new evolution. The class started clapping for the newly evolved pokemon and its trainer.

"Congratulations Mark!" Professor Maple congratulated his pupil as he clapped his hands in applause.

"Thanks professor!" The student shook Bellossom's hand in celebration; both of which wore elated faces, before returning it to its Pokeball and taking his seat again. Ryan closed his Pokedex once more and put it back in his right jean pocket. The boy with glasses took the time the class needed to stop the applause to press Ryan about the Pokedex.

"You have a Pokedex? That must mean you're a trainer!" The boy whispered to Ryan as Professor Rowan started talking again.

"I'm not a trainer, but-" Ryan began to whisper back, but was interrupted by another voice, a female whisper.

"If you aren't a trainer, then why do you have a Pokedex?" Ryan turned his head to see the girl with the white fisherman hat looking at him with her piercing brown eyes. Before Ryan could answer, a warning cough from Professor Maple redirected all three of them to pay attention to Professor Rowan's lecture. Fifteen minutes passed as nothing else disturbed the lecture.

"And last but not least, a pokemon can evolve when you, the trainer, gained it's trust. For example, an Eevee can evolve using a Fire Stone, Leaf Stone, Thunderstone, or a Water Stone. However, if the Eevee in question trusts the trainer before a stone is used, and depending on the time of day, it will evolve into either an Umbreon or an Espeon." Professor Rowan spoke in a balance of a gruffness and in an interesting tone of voice.

_"Umbreon and Espeon?"_ Ryan looked down at Eevee, who seemed fast asleep on his lap, since her mouth seemed to make a low snore as she breathed in and out. Then, Ryan looked at Umbreon, who returned next to him, along with Squirtle, for a second then turned back to face Professor Rowan.

_"Depending on the time of day; so, if Umbreon was the result of Eevee trusting me during night,"_ Ryan didn't need to finish the thought, knowing the same applied to an Espeon, only during the day.

"Now, I understand there is a trainer here with an Eevee?" Professor Rowan said as he looked straight at Ryan. The students turned their heads to see who Professor Rowan was looking at. The boy and the girl with the fisherman hat also looked at Ryan. Ryan felt another wave of nervousness, from all of the pairs of piercing eyes watching him.

"Could you come on up here?" Professor Rowan asked.

"Sure." Ryan answered as he shifted nervously. He didn't want to wake Eevee up, so he picked her up and cradled Eevee like a baby in his arms. Ryan got up from his chair and walked down the stairs in the middle of the seats to the front, next to Professor Rowan and Professor Maple. "Aww" was heard from a couple of girls as they laid eyes on Eevee, who was asleep in Ryan's arms. Umbreon followed closely and stopped beside Ryan while Squirtle stopped beside Umbreon. Umbreon and Squirtle stood facing the class, while Ryan faced halfway between the professors and the class.

"Now, tell me; I know we've touched on this, but when did you meet your Umbreon?" Professor Rowan asked. The entire class of students and Professor Maple all stared at Ryan for the answer. Everyone was wondering what Professor Rowan was trying to point out.

"Y-yesterday." Professor Rowan continued with his questions as some jaws dropped to the floor in surprise. However, another surprise had yet to hit them. "And did you meet Umbreon as an Umbreon, or did you meet it as an Eevee?" He asked Ryan.

"I met Umbreon as an Eevee." Ryan answered without haste. Professor Maple slightly jumped at the response. The students started whispering to each other once they realized Ryan had met Eevee only yesterday! Now jaws dropped row after row, in pure astonishment. The girl with the white fisherman hat wore a shocked look. She unknowingly shared a thought with Professor Maple.

_"That would mean Eevee trusted him in less than twenty four hours!" _They both thought in part criticism.

"No way! That means," The boy sitting next to Ryan earlier readjusted his glasses. "This is crazy Cuz!" The boy turned to the girl with the white fisherman hat. She nodded in agreement and looked back up front at Umbreon. Ryan noticed the murmurs in the student body.

_"Whoa. They're going crazy! Is it that unusual for an Eevee to evolve? No, it's probably something else," _Ryan thought in response as his nervousness slightly dipped as he wondered why the students whispered to one another.

"That's all, Ryan, you can head back to your seat," Professor Rowan told Ryan, who nodded and began his ascent up the stairs to his seat. As Ryan sat down in his seat and softly set Eevee on the desk, she slowly stirred awake. Eevee gave a small yawn as she stretched out her legs and shook herself, getting up to her feet.

"Hey! Have a good nap?" Ryan asked quietly as Eevee turned to him

_"Yeah!"_ Eevee nodded a bit slowly. Ryan smiled in response and pet Eevee behind her ears, which made her coo cutely.

"_Psst!_ Hey," Ryan stopped petting Eevee as he turned his attention to the boy, who seemed to have a stunned look on his face. "Were you serious up there?" He asked Ryan.

"Yeah, I was," Ryan answered him, which left the boy with an even more shocked, but awed look.

"H-how'd you meet-" The boy was brimming with questions; especially since he had never heard of a pokemon evolving in just a day! Ryan waved both of his hands in warning and told him to wait until later to ask him; especially since he noticed Professor Maple staring at them. Eevee stayed on the desk and laid down on it, facing Ryan. She wanted to play with him, but Ryan shook his head, quietly saying with a smile, "Wait 'till later, okay?" Eevee nodded as she stayed quiet for him. A few more minutes passed as Professor Rowan wrapped his evolution lecture up.

"And, with this newly acquired knowledge, you all will become better trainers, but more so, better friends with pokemon, as now you have a better understanding of their growth. Do not be with a pokemon merely for an evolution; pokemon are our friends," Professor Rowan finished.

"That's my mentor, Professor Rowan! Thanks for giving the lecture! Let's give him a round of applause!" Professor Maple said as his students started applauding along with him. The applause grew to a roar, even a lone wolf whistle was heard.

"Thank you, thank you," Professor Rowan bowed for the students. As the applause died down, Professor Maple started to address the students as Professor Rowan packed the unused Leaf Stone in his briefcase, closed it, and closed the brass latches, locking the briefcase.

"Okay class, remember, I need a one page response to Professor Rowan's lecture. It needs to be double spaced with a header." Professor Maple told his class, who reacted with a series of groans. They thought today's lecture was supposed to be fun; not to mention a day off from weeks straight of homework.

_"Reminds me of school back at home..."_ Ryan smiled as he thought. As he looked around the class, he saw the same slightly annoyed look on nearly everyone's faces due to the assignment. _"Well, it's only a page; could've been worse for them, I think," _Ryan thought. He noticed the only people who didn't groan and had indifferent reactions to the assignment were the boy and the girl with the white fisherman hat. _"Why aren't they complaining? The kid, probably cause he's Professor Maple's aide, but her?" _Ryan thought as he looked at the boy with the glasses and the girl with the white fisherman hat.

"Until tomorrow, class dismissed!" Professor Maple dismissed his class with a clap. The students groggily got up from their seats and proceeded to the door, not looking forward to doing their assignment.  
_  
"It definitely feels like college, even a bit like high school!"_ Ryan thought as he turned to Umbreon and Squirtle who, to Ryan's surprise, were still awake.

"Hey guys, how'd you hold up?" Ryan asked them, since he was mainly busy absorbing the content of the lecture.

_"Fine."_ Squirtle and Umbreon nodded, since saying anything would end up confusing Ryan.

"I guess that means okay, huh?" Ryan knew their nod meant yes, but he tried to understand what Umbreon and Squirtle were saying. Their language's meaning still eluded him._"I wish I could understand them... if only there was a way..." _Ryan thought.

"Hey!" The boy with glasses got up from his seat and walked up to Ryan, waving his hand in front of Ryan's face, snapping Ryan out of his thought and turning his attention to him. The boy stood at around four feet and a half in height and had light brown hair that seemed to form a cup shape with a few rebel bangs in the front. The pair of glasses, Ryan now noticed, had a slightly thick black frame, most likely because they were meant for kids. The boy wore a pair of grey shorts, a red Tee shirt, sneakers with a mixed design of red and grey stripes, and a small identification card was clipped on his left pocket, with the boy's picture in it. The picture, generally as pictures turn out, had him smiling. The name on his identification card was Daniel Maple, unknown to Ryan.

"You still didn't tell me how you met Eevee!" Daniel pointed out to Ryan, now that nearly the entire class had left. Only the girl with the white fisherman hat remained at the front, next to Professor Maple and Professor Rowan, who seemed to be talking with her.

"Oh, I'll tell you," Ryan promised as another thought crossed his mind; what was this kid's name?

"I'm sorry, but what's your name?" Ryan asked Daniel as he adjusted his glasses and answered.

"My name's Daniel, but you can call me Dan," Daniel extended his small hand, prompting a handshake. Ryan connected his hand to do a handshake, careful not to be too firm on his handshake.

"Nice to meet you!" Ryan said to Daniel. Professor Rowan called out to them; the call seemed to echo a bit more than earlier due to the room's acoustics, and the lack of bodies in the room.

"Ryan, would you mind coming down here?" Professor Rowan asked him from the front of the lab. Ryan looked at the front, noticing Professor Rowan and Maple stood alongside the girl with the white fisherman hat.

"Well, I guess we'd better go," Ryan said to Umbreon, Eevee, Squirtle and Daniel, as Daniel nodded in agreement. Ryan got up from his seat and started down the stairs to the front. Daniel went ahead of Ryan, getting to the front before him and stood next to Professor Maple. The pokemon struggled a little bit; Squirtle's center of balance was thrown off each step he came down to. Eevee nearly tripped on a step, an Umbreon didn't have any trouble, due to his bigger body and longer legs.

Ryan and the pokemon came up to Professor Maple, Professor Rowan, Daniel, and the girl, who were all waiting for him. As Ryan came up he noticed a few things; Professor Maple was shorter than Rowan, but barely, so that meant he was approximately five feet and ten inches tall, meaning he was four inches taller than Ryan. Ryan also noticed the girl's height as well; she was almost as tall as he was, just an inch in difference, give or take. Along with the white fisherman hat, now Ryan noticed a pink Pokeball outline on the hat, the girl wore a red skirt that cut off midway of her thighs along with a light blue sleeveless shirt with white lining on the ends. She also sported long light blue socks with white and red accent sneakers and a yellow side-bag that seemed to have many pockets. After noting that, he noticed she had long light brown hair that went a little past her shoulders; it looked well maintained due to the straightness of the hair.

_"Well, she is a girl, not saying anything, but... I wonder who she is? She looks older than the other students,"_ Ryan thought, unconsciously noting certain features of the girl. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Professor Maple.

"So, this is the kid who's been causing a ruckus," Professor Maple poked in a joking tone.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Ryan apologized with a cheeky smile and turned to Professor Rowan. "Your lecture was great!"

"Thank you, young trainer," Professor Rowan thanked before Daniel cut in with an important piece of information.

"He's not a trainer!" Daniel quickly said, trying to correct Professor Rowan. Everyone, including the girl with the white fisherman hat, looked at Ryan with different levels of astonishment on their faces. Umbreon, Eevee, and Squirtle decided to sit back as the humans conversed.

"Really?" Professor Maple said. "But, then show me your Pokedex!" Ryan pulled the blue Pokedex out from his pocket and held it out in his hands for the circle of people to see. "That looks like the ones you give out to new trainers, Professor Rowan!" Professor Maple said as he examined it.

"Hmm..." Professor Rowan voiced out as he thought. This was quite a development, he thought in his head. Ryan, Professor Maple, Daniel, and the girl were looking at Professor Rowan, waiting for him to continue on with his thoughts. Something unexpected appeared, slowing Professor Rowan's train of thought.

"Hey, here it is! Told you, Ash!" A young female voice rang through the doorway. Everybody turned to the door to see where the sudden voice came from. A blue haired Dawn, with Piplup in her arms, seemed to be leading Ash along, who had Pikachu on his shoulder.

The two had spent a few minutes lost around the lab before noticing Professor Maple's students, who were leaving the lab. Ash and Dawn wondered where everyone had just came from, especially with textbooks and notebooks in their arms. Eventually, they found the same sign that pointed Ryan in the right direction, thanks to Dawn.

"Hi, Professor Rowan!" Ash greeted as he and Dawn walked up to the group. Professor Rowan was still in thought, or at least looked like it. Ryan decided to greet them for him.

"Ash! Dawn! Hey!" Ryan greeted back, nearly forgetting that they had said they would join him, but after getting Brock.

"_Wait, speaking of Brock; where is he? I thought they went to get him?"_ Ryan thought as he tried to slyly look behind Ash and Dawn, but decided to stop as Dawn started talking.

"Did we miss it?" Dawn asked as she looked around at the empty lab room and the empty seats.

"Yeah," Ryan answered and visibly looked behind Ash and Dawn for Brock. "Where's Brock? I thought you guys went to go get him?" Ryan asked them with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, you see," Dawn began to explain the tale to Ryan as everybody began to listen in, even Professor Rowan, who was still thinking of the recent developments. Even thought the girl, Professor Maple, and Daniel had no clue who Brock was, they listened out of politeness and the fact they were waiting for Professor Rowan's thoughts. "We went back to the Pokemon Center and back to our room- he wasn't back yet, so Ash and I went to look for him." Ash continued the story for Dawn.

"Yeah, we went lookin' for him, and we thanks to Staraptor, we found him, except," Ash stopped in mid sentence.

"Hmm? Except...?" Ryan was wondering why Ash had stopped in mid sentence. What had happened to Brock to where Ash and Dawn wouldn't say much?

"When we found him, he was being... well, Brock!" Dawn finished for Ash.

"Huh?" Confusion showed on Professor Maple, Daniel, and the girl's face, even Ryan was a bit confused, until he thought about it for a quick second.

_"What do they mean?" _An image of what happened earlier with Brock and Nurse Joy popped into his head, clearing up Ryan's confusion.

"Did Brock-"Ash and Dawn nodded before he could finish out loud. Ryan couldn't help but pop a slight smirk on his head and laughed in his head at how much of a Casanova Brock could be; he had just met him too!

"He's back at our room with Croagunk; he'll be fine." Dawn told Ryan, who nodded at the information and then slightly cocked his head back to a small degree in surprise; they had left Brock alone with the "Casanova Killjoy"?

"Well, okay," Ryan had his doubts but decided to leave the issue alone. The looks of confusion eventually faded as Professor Maple looked at his mentor and asked him something, even though he still looked like he was in thought.

"Professor Rowan, pardon, but who are they?" Professor Maple asked him.

"I'm Ash, from Pallet Town!" Ash introduced himself to Professor Maple, to the girl and Daniel. "And this is my partner, Pikachu!" Ash pointed to Pikachu, who stood on his shoulder.

_"Hi!"_ Pikachu waved as Ash introduced him.

"I'm Dawn, from Twinleaf Town!" Dawn stepped up and introduced herself as well. "And this is Piplup!" Dawn introduced as she looked down at her arms, where Piplup was.

_"Hey!"_ Piplup greeted, as he raised a wing to wave.

"Pallet Town? That means you came from Kanto!" Professor Maple noted as Ash said his birth place. He wondered what someone from Kanto would be doing in Sinnoh.

"Yeah, I'm here to compete in the Sinnoh league!" Ash answered Professor Maple's curiosity.

"Cool!" Daniel cut in with awe. It had been a while since he had meet a tournament competing trainer, considering the last Sinnoh League was a couple of years ago. "How many badges do you have?" In response to Daniel's question, Ash pulled his badge case out and opened it.

"I've got seven; as soon as I win at the Sunyshore Gym, I'm going to the Sinnoh League!" Ash explained with fiery enthusiasm as he clenched his hand in front into a fist in excitement. However, Daniel seemed to lose his envy for a split second as Ash mentioned the Sunyshore Gym.

"But, hasn't the Sunyshore Gym-" Daniel recalled hearing tales of the fiercest gym leader in all of Sinnoh, who had yet to lose a single match to anyone! Also, Daniel recalled rumors about the gym leader and, simply put, his job security.

"Yes." Professor Rowan cut in suddenly, emerging from his thoughts."The Sunyshore Gym's leader is, at the moment, uninspired,"

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked, recalling similar descriptions from another situation.

"You will see when you get there."Professor Rowan simply said.

"Does that have to do with what Palmer said?" Ash asked as he recalled the Twinleaf Festival, wanting to know more.

"Palmer? Tower Tycoon Palmer?" Professor Maple asked with a gleam in his eye. Back in the day, as Professor Maple recalled, he had always wanted to try battling Palmer, but he never got the chance!

"Yeah, Ash almost beat his Rhyperior and he suggested Ash should go to the Sunyshore Gym!" Dawn explained. A series of small gasps escaped from the rest of the group, save for the girl, Ryan, and of course, Ash and Dawn. Ryan was confused.

"Who's Tower Tycoon Palmer?" Ryan asked as everyone looked at him. Everyone except for Ash and Dawn gave Ryan one of those looks that seemed to convey, _"Are you serious?"_

"You don't know who he is?" Daniel asked. Ryan shook his head.

"What rock have you been living under?" Professor Maple asked, amazed that someone actually didn;t know who Palmer was.

"Uh," Ryan muttered under the awkward situation he was placed in due to his question. Professor Rowan suddenly cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.

"As I was about to say, yes, your Pokedex is indeed one of the Sinnoh versions I give out to beginning trainers. However, I do not remember giving you one, even though you look older than a beginning trainer," Professor Rowan finally revealed his thoughts. He was recalling nearly every trainer he had helped start out, ever since the beginning of his career as a Pokemon Professor. Ryan just didn't seem familiar, at all.

"Well, that's true, I'm seventeen... and I got this from an old fortune teller back home," Ryan said, causing Professor Rowan to raise an eyebrow at the last part.

"Hmm... and what region are you from?" Professor Rowan was intrigued that a Sinnoh version of the Pokedex was given out in another part of the world. Little did he know, however, that wasn't the case.

"I'm from the United States," Ryan said, even though he knew they didn't know what it was, he figured he should say something.

"United States?" Professor Maple questioned, as this was the first time he had ever heard of this country. Ryan knew what was coming, and took a deep breath; this was going to be a long story.

"I guess I'd better explain," Ryan began to tell his tale as he took a seat on a clear spot on Professor Maple's desk.

"You see, I'm not exactly from around here," A questioning look appeared on everyone's face, except for Ash and Dawn, as they've heard Ryan's story before. It didn't stop them from listening once more. "Or anywhere in this world; at least, that's what I think."

"Go on," Professor Rowan was intrigued as he prepared to listen in to all of the details..

"I was with my childhood friends at the amusement park in our hometown, winding down after a week of..." Forty-five minutes passed as Ryan recounted his exploits and adventures up until the point of ending up in Arrowroot Town. He, on purpose, left out the part where he skipped a few roller coasters from his phobia. Umbreon and Eevee served as visual examples at certain parts of his tale, such as when Ryan got to the part about waking up to Eevee licking his face; she tried to do it again, to everyone's entertainment, but Ryan caught her before she licked his face clean. When Ryan finished up with the reason why he was in the library earlier, Professor Maple had one of those "aha!" moments slightly showing on his face once he knew why Ash, Dawn and Ryan were there earlier. He was expecting another reason as to why they were there, only known to him.

"Wow..." Daniel was amazed, as his face clearly expressed. He wasn't the only one; Professor Maple stood with his mouth wide open during his "aha!" moment and the girl's eyes widened in amazement.

"Hmm, so from what you have told me, you are from a world without pokemon, and this fortune teller sent you here?" Professor Rowan asked, unfazed by the oddity of a story Ryan had told him. He acted like it was everyday, casual nonsense! Ryan nodded in response to Professor Rowan's synopsis.

"I don't know why she sent me, but I thought I heard something before I blacked out; I can't remember exactly what it was," Ryan said as his mind jumped to faint images of the masked fortune teller waving at him as he fell into, what it seemed like at the time, an endless dark void. It was probably because his eyes were closed, Ryan reasoned.

"But more importantly, I am amazed the pokemon you met yesterday warmed up to you so quickly." Professor Rowan commented as he looked at; Eevee, who ended up on Ryan's right shoulder once more, Umbreon, who quietly sat and listened on his hind legs next to Ryan, and Squirtle, who crossed his arms, faced the opposite direction Ryan did. Ryan wore a sheepish look on his face as Squirtle popped into his head instantly. Professor Rowan was almost right, more specifically, he was two for three on his assumption. Ryan only hoped it would be three for three soon.

"Not only that, you even got Eevee to evolve into an Umbreon! Most trainers spend months, even years to gain their pokemon's trust!" Professor Maple commented, pointing out the oddity, but amazing quality.

"Is it that odd?" Ryan asked, amazed evolving in less than a day was outlandish. After all, Ryan recalled, he remembered instantly evolving his pokemon in his old game. However, he figured there was a world of difference between the game and the world he was stuck in.

"A little, of course, but it's amazing," Professor Maple said as his thoughts turned to his old friend and how long it took him to evolve. Ryan looked down at Umbreon, who was still quietly listening in on the conversation, and patted Umbreon on his head, who happily shifted around.

_"Thanks..." _Ryan smiled, a bit emotionally touched that Umbreon had decided to evolve. Squirtle, who still was facing the opposite way, looked back at Ryan and Umbreon, who both looked happy. Going against the feeling in his gut, Squirtle turned back around stubbornly.

_"Hmph! I know I'm definitely not gonna evolve for him, of all people!"_ Squirtle thought, burying his gut's feeling.

"More importantly, if you really did come from another world, there must be more alternate dimensions out there!" Professor Maple concluded, snapping his fingers, in a "Eureka!" moment type of fashion.

"Hmm? There're more dimensions other than mine?" Ryan asked, wondering how Professor Maple came to his conclusion.

"Well, I can't say for sure, but since you're here, I can only assume there're more alternate worlds; this is a huge breakthrough! Wait right here!" Professor Maple told Ryan as he opened his lab's door and started to run out. "Be right back!" Professor Maple said as he slipped out of the others sights.

"Huh? Where's he going?" Dawn wondered aloud. Professor Rowan sighed as he looked at Ryan in a slight sympathetic look.

"Ryan, please accept my apologies before he comes back," He told Ryan, who gently let Eevee down from his shoulders, as it begged Ryan to let her down, via a sensation called aching pain.

"What do you mean?" Ryan asked as Professor Maple came rushing back through his door with an old thick notebook and a pen in his hands.

"Mind answering a few questions?" Professor Maple asked, with delight in his voice.

"I guess I don't mind," Ryan shrugged, not knowing what that meant.

"Okay, come on!" Professor Maple suddenly pulled Ryan out of the room with lightning quick speed and before Ryan could register what was going on, he disappeared from the lab. Even Squirtle, who turned as Professor Maple reappeared in his lab, had to take a couple of seconds to register what happened.

_"Ryan!"_ Eevee called out as she almost ran after him.

_"He'll be fine, sis,"_ Umbreon said to Eevee as he stepped in front of her, stopping her from running. _"Besides, he's only answering a few questions; how long could that take?"_ Umbreon innocently said, not knowing Professor Maple.

_"Yeah, Umbreon's right!"_ Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder to join in on the conversation.

_"Yeah!"_ Piplup jumped from Dawn's head and uncharacteristically landed on his feet with poise and grace, generally absent in Piplup's case.

_"I'm guessing he'll be back in a few minutes' tops!"_ Piplup suggested.

_"I don't think so,"_ Squirtle thought as he remembered the thick notebook Professor Maple held as he dragged Ryan along with him.

"My apologies to you all, my former student is still hyper about his research," Professor Rowan offered his apologies to the people left behind; Ash, Dawn, Daniel and the girl with the white fisherman hat.

"What is Professor Maple even researching about?" Dawn asked, curious as to why Professor Maple seemed giddy as soon as he reached his conclusion about alternate dimensions.

"He's continuing a topic we took care of months ago; alternate dimensions." Professor Maple purposely mentioned the time frame of a few months ago, wanting Ash and Dawn to recall something.

Ash thought a bit, putting his hand at his chin. Pikachu repeated his trainer's actions before realizing at the same time Ash did, "Wait, isn't that around the same time we stopped Team Galactic?" Daniel's and the girl's eyes widened as they looked incredulously at Ash.

"Hold on, you're one of the ones who saved the world?" Daniel asked. It seemed like a day full of surprises, he thought.

"He is indeed, along with Dawn," Professor Rowan motioned to Dawn, who awkwardly waved as Daniel increased his incredulous look. "And their friend named Brock," Professor Rowan told Daniel.

"You mean, they're the trio from the legend?" Daniel asked Professor Rowan, in order to be sure. It wasn't everyday a person met a legend.

"Huh? Legend?" Ash and Dawn cluelessly asked at the same time. Daniel looked at Ash and Dawn, raising his suspicions, but looked back at Professor Rowan as he began to explain the legend to them.

"It's something that refers to the ancients and the Lake Guardians. The legend stated that Dialga and Palkia had escaped from their respective dimensions and clashed in our world. The massive energy from their attacks caused widespread damage across Sinnoh. The Lake Trio of Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie decided it was time to stop the destruction and each summoned a young child to their lake. The children and the Lake Trio combined managed to calm Dialga and Palkia down and send them back to their dimensions." Professor Maple told the legend in a tone suitable for storytelling.

"Wow, so what happened back at Spear Pillar and Mount Coronet; it happened before!" Dawn thought aloud as Ash nodded in agreement; this was the first they had even heard of a legend.

She referred to an incident where a group syndicate known as Team Galactic, led by Cyrus, tried to summon Dialga and Palkia and control them. Cyrus was stopped by Ash, Dawn, Brock and the Sinnoh champion, Cynthia, but not before a tear in the time space opened up, threatening to swallow the entire world. Ash, Dawn, and Brock; along with the Lake Guardians, repaired the tear and sent Dialga and Palkia back to their dimensions. Before the tear was sealed, Cyrus jumped in, proclaiming that world to be his, and disappeared into the void of space-time.

"I didn't know there was a legend!" Ash said.

"Neither did I, until a little bit after the Team Galactic incident. Professor Maple, phoned me about finding a closed off cavern near Mount Coronet; it was unraveled under the shaking during the incident," Professor Rowan explained as Ash, Dawn, Daniel, and the girl with the white fisherman hat were closely listening. Daniel recalled something.

"Oh! Big brother told me he found some ancient writing in the walls and a series of pictures etched in stone!" Daniel said as he recalled the memory. Professor Rowan carefully took mental note of what Daniel said; he had yet to talk with his former pupil yet about the subject of his visit, aside from the pokemon evolution lecture.

"Huh? Pictures? And Professor Maple's your brother?" Dawn asked as she pieced it together.

"Yep! He's my big brother!" Daniel said, adjusting his glasses.

"The picture you are referring to referred to the legend that was written below it," Professor Rowan said, referring to an Email discussion he had with Professor Maple prior to visiting.

"I'd love to see it sometime," Dawn said, picturing ancient, dusty ruins with ancient pokemon etchings in them.

"Right now, the area is still being researched by Professor Maple. He believes he found hints and clues of another closed off chamber, or so he told me a while ago," Professor Rowan said.

"Is that why you came to Arrowroot, professor?" Ash asked, reasoning the discovery was huge.

"Why, yes. I was also here to give a lecture to these fine young trainers in the making," Professor Rowan answered, looking at the girl, who smiled back.

"Were they all trainers?" Ash asked Professor Rowan. Daniel cleared his throat to cut in and answer.

"Nope, in fact; none of them are licensed trainers! Well, except for my cousin over here," Daniel pointed to the girl, who seemed to shift a bit nervously.

"I think you and Ash should battle!" Daniel turned and suggested to the girl, who now looked almost shocked at the mention of a battle.

"Yeah! That sounds great, right Pikachu?" Ash agreed and asked his partner standing on his shoulder.

_"Yeah!"_ Pikachu raised an arm in agreement, already getting pumped for a battle.

"Maybe some other time," The girl was backing up slowly towards the door, as the others were paying attention to Ash, and bolted through the lab door.

"Hey, wait!" Ash said to no avail as the door closed. "What's up with her?" He thought aloud as he crossed his arms. It was just a pokemon battle, Ash reasoned.

_"Man, what will it take? Come on, Leaf,"_ Daniel worriedly thought as he crossed his arms and let out a puff.

* * *

"You're sure?" Professor Maple asked in a questioning tone as he eyed Ryan closely, like he was examining something under a magnifying glass.

"Yeah, I play it all the time for my school back at home," Ryan explained as Professor Maple continued to eye him.

"Hmm, interesting. An ancient sport is being played in a modern alternate world," Professor Maple thought aloud as he scribbled notes of what Ryan said on pages of his notebook. He was writing in his personal research log, reserved for oddities found during his career as a researcher. A part of his notebook contained information Professor Maple had found on alternate dimensions and the, in progress, calculation of the situation needed for a certain type of travel. Professor Maple originally reserved his notebook nowadays for slight quirks like differently colored pokemon since leads on alternate dimensions seemed to dry up after the Team Galactic incident, but Ryan's situation qualified for more than a simple quirk and sparked the research once more. Now Professor Maple had a window on, technically, an alien to his world.

Ryan looked around the room, which was Professor Maple's study next door to his lab room, from the plush seat he sat on, facing Professor Maple's desk. His study had a subtle color scheme of dark reds and grey accents on the edgings. The study had a wooden floor, with a decorative rug in the middle of the room that had many colors that matched the color scheme and Professor Maple's, presumably, wooden desk stood in the corner, facing the door leading out of the room. A bendable desk lamp, that was turned off, overlooked various sheets of papers were spread out on the desk, but in an orderly fashion, like they were being looked at carefully. Bookshelves lined the wall behind Professor Maple's desk, brimmed with various reference books on pokemon. Knickknacks were aplenty in the study, to the point where Ryan decided to stop looking for them. He turned back to Professor Maple, who was seated in his recliner chair behind his desk and finishing up the notes he took of Ryan's answers.

"Ancient? How is football ancient?" Ryan asked as knew in his world, football was a product of the twentieth century in America. How did the pokemon world have ancient roots to an American sport?

"According to artifacts my excavation team and I have found nearly a year ago, ancients' centuries ago wore padded equipment made to protect the head from, what speculation says, head injuries from ramming," Professor Maple told him about his findings.

"So, from what I've said, you think ancient people centuries ago in Sinnoh played football?" Ryan critically asked.

"Yeah!" Professor Maple snapped his fingers. "Well, I suppose I've asked you too many questions and," Professor Maple looked up at his orange Octillary wall clock that hung up on the wall, next to his personal desk.

"Yikes! They're still waiting back in the lab!" Professor Maple said, referring to Professor Rowan, Daniel, and the others.

"Yeah, I think we'd better get back," Ryan agreed, secretly relieved the "interrogation" was over. He and Professor Maple quickly got up from their seats and prepared to leave the study. Ryan opened the door without looking and said to Professor Maple, "Well, even though there were a lot of-" A late warning from Professor Maple didn't stop Ryan from colliding with someone and knocking them both down, making a "thud" noise.

"Ow," Ryan looked at the other person as he gathered himself. He recognized it was the girl wearing the white fisherman hat from earlier, who looked a bit flustered.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" The girl quickly apologized.

"No, it's my fault," Ryan admitted as he got up to his feet and helped the girl up to her feet.

"Ryan, Le- oh!" Professor Maple stopped talking suddenly, so Ryan turned around to see why, only to find Professor Maple clenching his mouth shut with both of his hands.

"Sorry, almost forgot!" Professor Maple muffled through his hands. The words were muffled, making it hard to understand, but the girl got the message.

"Huh?" Ryan was a tad confused at what Professor Maple apologized for. He looked at the girl, who seemed to have a slight pink hue to her face, but he figured it was his imagination; although she did just run into him.

"It's alright, Matt." The girl reassured through the faint pink on her cheeks, a little more flustered that Professor Maple nearly said something she didn't want said out loud in front of a stranger.

"Phew! Anyways, you wanted to see me? I mean, it looks like it, from the way you bumped into Ryan here," Professor Maple said in a humorous tone of voice.

"I do," The girl pulled Professor Maple aside, away from Ryan, and started talking in a hushed whisper.

"Daniel tried setting up a battle between me and the kid named Ash," The girl explained in a whisper while Professor Maple looked at her and then suddenly smirked, to the girl's surprise.

"What?" The girl asked, wondering what Professor Maple was thinking about.

"Well, I think he may be right. It's probably, no, definitely, time for you to battle again!" Professor Maple declared in a louder whisper. The girl seemed to almost flinch from the mention of battling like earlier, like someone had put ice on her back.

"B-but-" The girl began to object instantly.

"No buts!" Professor Maple raised a finger and waved it back and forth and then continued talking back and forth. Professor Maple used body motions and hand signals while he talked to the girl. Ryan was standing near the door, looking at the two of them whisper back and forth.

_"I wonder what they're talking about? Wait a sec, I can hear what they're saying!"_ Ryan felt a little mischievous for eavesdropping, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"I know you've lost the semifinals in Kanto, and the quarterfinals in Johto, but you have to get over them!" Professor Maple whispered a bit harshly to the girl, who kept silent with a lost look gleaming in her eyes.

_"Not that look again,"_ Professor Maple worriedly thought as he remembered something about his cousin._"Maybe it is a little soon, especially with her mom," _

"Leaf, I'm not going to push you or anything, it's just," The girl named Leaf raised a hand to stop Professor Maple in mid sentence.

"It's alright. I'm glad you're concerned. I really am," She turned around to leave, a bit disappointed. "I'll be in my room." Leaf said as she turned, went over to the door leading to the foyer, while passing Ryan, opened it and took one step out of the study when she heard Ryan say something.

"Her name is Leaf?" Ryan thought aloud without thinking as Leaf jumped suddenly, turned around, ran up to Ryan, turned him to face her and gripped him by the shoulders. Ryan was still registering what was happening as Leaf asked him in a frantic tone,

"How did you know?" Leaf turned to Professor Maple, who let out a small yelp. "Did you tell him?" Professor Maple waved his hands in front of him back and forth, like he was signaling "mercy!".

"No! Remember? I shushed myself before I said anything, Leaf! Oops," Professor Maple bit hit lip as he let Leaf's name slip out. Leaf gave him a look and turned her attention back to Ryan, staring him down, waiting for an answer. Ryan felt compelled to confess to his eavesdropping earlier.

"I sort of eavesdropped on your conversation over there; whoa!" Leaf suddenly grabbed Ryan and started shaking him back and forth, with his head bobbing.

"You can't tell anybody! You can't!" Leaf frantically told him, not paying attention to how hard he was shaking Ryan.

"Whoa! What's- the- big – deal?" Ryan managed to say as Leaf shook him. He wondered how Leaf could shake him back and forth like she did as he dizzier; was she a secret bodybuilder or something?

"Leaf, I think you'd better stop!" Professor Maple warned as he noticed a dazed look appearing on Ryan's face. Leaf looked at Ryan's face, seeing the dizzy look and immediately stopped shaking Ryan , letting go of him. A stronger blush appeared on her face as she realized her rash action.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Leaf apologized as she put her hands behind her and dipped her head slightly as she felt the hot blush on her cheeks. Ryan had no idea how to respond; he found out her name and she shook him over and over again until he was dizzy. It was like those roller coasters back home, Ryan connected in his head. Then again, thinking in an understanding way, Ryan reasoned that there may be a story behind Leaf's behavior; after all, this wasn't the first time someone overreacted in Ryan's life.

"I-it's alright." Ryan managed to say while recovering from dizziness. He shook his head as soon as everything straightened out.

_"This kinda reminds me of when I found out Carter was afraid of heights and when I found out he had feelings for Taylor,"_ Ryan laughed a bit in his head at the memory, which resulted in a small chuckle that was audible in the would be silent room, if it wasn't for the ticking of the Octillary analog clock.

"Huh?" Ryan looked at Leaf, whose blush had disappeared and she even looked appalled.

"Why does everybody have to laugh at my name?" Leaf thought aloud as Ryan jerked back a bit in shock; she had thought he was laughing at her!

"Oh, no! I was laughing about my friends back at home!" Ryan waved his hands back and forth in panic, wanting to settle the misunderstanding.

"Yeah, sure," Leaf said with sarcasm, as she wasn't convinced.

"I'm serious!" Ryan said, appalled that Leaf didn't believe him. Leaf turned away in a huff, leaving Ryan lost on what to do.

"Now now children," Professor Maple said in amusement at the developing scene before he started flinching at two approaching figures that turned on him.

"We're not kids!" Ryan and Leaf both shouted in objection, in stereo. They both looked at each other, realizing they both had spoken at the same time, and that they both were offended by Professor Maple's remark.

"Uh huh, sure," Professor Maple decided to save his jokes for later as he looked at Ryan and Leaf in front of him.

"Huh? You're not a kid?" Ryan suddenly asked Leaf. Now it was Ryan's turn to flinch in fear as Leaf huffed.

"I'm eighteen! Do I even look like a kid?" Ryan prepared for the worst, but Leaf only turned in a huff and stormed out the door, slamming it and disappearing from sight.

_"Yikes." _Ryan thought, realizing it could've been worse.

"Well," Professor Maple began as he walked up to Ryan, who was still thinking. "Not the best way to meet someone, but that was my cousin Leaf," Professor Maple subtly added a tone of humor to his talk.

"Yeah, I got the memo when she flipped," Ryan said his thought aloud, earning a smirk from Professor Maple. "Speaking of which, why did she? And what was she talking to you about?" Ryan asked as Professor Maple sighed.

"Her name? That's kind of easy to figure out," Professor Maple implied, which Ryan understood. He had heard of weirder names before, though. There had to be more, Ryan thought. "And she doesn't want to battle," Professor Maple continued on.

"Hmm?" Ryan let out a sound of curiosity. "What do you mean?" Ryan asked, wanting to know more.

"My little brother suggested a battle between Leaf and your friend Ash," Professor Maple told Ryan.

"Who's your little brother?" Ryan asked Professor Maple, but then his light bulb clicked in his mind as he recalled something Daniel stuttered about earlier during the lecture. It had sounded like he said the word, "big". "Is Daniel your brother?" Ryan asked as Professor Maple nodded.

"Leaf apparently declined the offer to battle and came in here to talk to me," Professor Maple continued on.

"But, what's the big deal? I mean, I guess trainers don't have to battle everything they see, right?" Ryan said as a slight frown emerged onto Professor Maple's face.

"If only that were the case," Professor Maple seemed to take a dramatic pause. "You see, I can't say too much, but, as far as I know, Leaf is one of the best trainers out there," Ryan nodded, waiting for Maple to continue.

"She even came out a champion within a tournament in the Sevvi Islands, and came in fourth in the Kanto tournament." Professor Maple explained. Ryan had no idea where Sevvi was, but where ever it was, Leaf was the champion of that place!

"Really? She's that strong?" Ryan recalled the flushed girl huffing out the door earlier and had a hard time believing Professor Maple.

"Believe me. I was a prime trainer a few years back when she first started her journey. We battled a year afterwards, and she whooped me,"

"Well, one year can make a difference," Ryan noted.

"Yeah, but, what if the other trainer had nearly five years of experience?" Professor Maple said, waiting for a shocked look on Ryan's face.

"Say what?" Ryan's eyes widened, meeting Professor Maple's criteria for a shocked look.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too," Professor Maple said.

"Wow, she could probably kick anybody's butt if she wanted to, from what you've said," Ryan said, amazed at Leaf's strength as a Pokemon Trainer. Professor Maple wore only a faded frown on his face.

"She could have," Professor Maple said through a slightly dampened tone of voice.

"Could have?" Ryan wondered.

"You see, Leaf... lost her will to battle." Professor Maple explained in a somber tone, knowing her full history, and as he recalled it, Professor Maple felt slightly more depressed.

"Her will to battle?" Ryan was confused.

"Like I said, it's a long story." Professor Maple finished.

_"Hmm… now I'm curious." _Ryan thought as he turned around to open the door.

"Wait, where're you going?" Professor Maple asked Ryan as he stepped out the door..

"Well, I'm going to ask Leaf if I could, well, battle her." Ryan answered. A silent, awkward tension suddenly emerged and lasted for a few seconds. Ryan wondered if he had possibly crossed the line, and prepared to apologize, when Professor Maple started to laugh hysterically.

"Hey! What's so funny?" Ryan asked, feeling slightly offended.

"You're joking, right? I mean, after what I just said," Professor Maple said through slight chuckles after he stopped his major laughing.

"No, I'm not," Ryan said with confidence.

"Well, then your idea's a joke then! She's not going to battle you! Besides, you've just met your pokemon." Professor Maple said simply, trying to rip Ryan's idea apart. A determined look on Ryan's face proved otherwise in Professor Maple's opinion; however, it masked Ryan's true thoughts.

_"He's right! I mean, I'm still trying to remember the basics of battling! And Squirtle? Don't get me started," _Ryan thought as he was about to dismiss his own idea.

"Well," Professor Maple scanned Ryan's face, which wore the determined look like a poker face, except, after regrouping his thoughts, Ryan emotionally backed up his expression.

_"Haven't seen a look like that since…" _Professor Maple recalled a certain young trainer he had seen years ago.

"Tell you what. Why don't you battle me?" Ryan raised his eyebrow at Professor Maple's suggestion.

"I wanna see what you've got; so, yes? Or are you chicken?" Professor Maple taunted.

"Fine, I'll battle you!" Ryan said with a smirk, falling for the taunt.

_"This kid made an Eevee evolve to an Umbreon; and after a day! My Eevee evolved after nearly two years... what does this kid have? I'm gonna find out. Maybe Leaf will watch this? It's a long shot, but,"_ Professor Maple thought with his hand on his did Ryan and Professor Maple know, Leaf was hidden outside of the study door, behind a potted tree that was meant for decoration in the foyer. The pot was big enough to barely hide Leaf completely.

_"They're gonna battle?"_ Leaf slowly popped her head from the side of the pot, keeping out of sight. _"What's Matt up to?"_

"Well, then, meet me outside on the Lab's battle arena in one hour!" Professor Maple declared.

"Right," Ryan nodded and turned to leave.

_"Oh no! He's gonna see me!"_ Leaf ducked out of sight before Ryan spotted her.

"Oh, one more thing," Professor Maple asked as he remembered something. "You can have your friends come along to watch. And could you ask Professor Rowan to come back to my office?"

"Sure," Ryan turned to leave through the study's door, walking out and failing to notice Leaf, who hid behind the pot. Meanwhile, inside in his study, Professor Maple reached into his white lab coat pocket and pulled out a Pokeball, looking at it with a nostalgic look in his eyes.

_"Well, old buddy, let's see if we still have it," _Professor Maple thought as he turned and looked at a framed photo behind his desk of a younger version of him, and a younger version of Leaf, both waving the peace sign, standing in front of a gang of pokemon. A light purple cat-like creature hopped over the younger Professor Maple's head.


	11. Back to the Basics! Part 4

**Back to the Basics! Revised Edition; January 4th, 2011.**

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Ryan reached for the silver knob of the door that led back into Professor Rowan's lab. He twisted the knob counterclockwise, pushed the door open, which made a slight creaking noise, drawing the attention of everyone in the lab. Ryan looked at Ash, Dawn, Professor Rowan and Daniel and greeted them."Hey, guys!" Then his sights turned to a speeding light brown speck running at him.

_"Ryan!" _Eevee cried as she ran up to Ryan, who knelt down and gave Eevee a soft petting as she came up to him, which slightly tickled Eevee. Umbreon walked up to him, glad Ryan was finally back; Eevee was complaining for most of the time he was gone. When Umbreon came up next to Eevee, Ryan shared his petting with Umbreon as well. Squirtle also followed, but stayed a carefully self measured distance away from Ryan and crossed his arms, facing away in a "Squirtle trademark."

"Hey Ryan!" Ash and Dawn greeted Ryan as they walked up to him. Daniel also quickly went up to Ryan, while Professor Rowan approached Ryan with a moderate pace.

"Hey, sorry it took so long," Ryan apologized to everyone as Professor Rowan finally joined the group. "Professor Maple asked me a _ton_ of questions!" Ryan added, putting an emphasis on "ton".

"My apologies once again, Ryan," Professor Rowan repeated. "My former top student can be very through in his research," Through was describing it lightly, Ryan thought as he recalled the various questions Professor Maple had asked him in his study. Professor Maple had asked Ryan about every little detail about his world. The topics ranged from food to clothes; Professor Maple even asked Ryan if there were actual human beings in his world, which caused Ryan to raise an eyebrow and make one of the weirdest faces he had ever made in his life. The "interrogation", as Ryan thought of it, seemed over before he bumped into Leaf, but little did he know Professor Maple was just starting with his questions. Ryan merely remarked he could see that clearly, when seeing Professor Rowan reminded him of something.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Professor Maple wanted to see you in his study for some reason. He asked for me to send you to his office," Ryan told Professor Rowan as he got up to his feet, letting Eevee onto his right shoulder.

"Oh, if that is the case, I should go see what he needs," Professor Rowan left the lab, opening the door and breezing out without another word as the door closed.

"How long was I gone for?" Ryan asked, as he thought about the eternity he spent in the "interrogation room".

"You were gone for nearly a half hour!" Dawn answered after careful thought.

"I thought it was longer than that," Ryan raised his eyebrow critically, believing otherwise. "But anyways, I've got stuff to tell you guys; a lot."

"Really?" Daniel asked with curiosity as he prepared to listen, along with Ash and Dawn.

"Well, long story short, I bumped into Le-" Ryan stopped himself by biting his tongue. "I mean, the girl from earlier, when I left Maple's office. She's apparently a tough trainer!" He finished up as Daniel looked at him with slightly widened eyes.

_"Wait, does he know Leaf's name? Did big bro let it slip? Knowing him, he probably did!" _Daniel thought as he pictured Professor Maple slapping both of his hands in front of his mouth as he blabbed. Daniel knew his big brother had a bit of a tough time keeping a secret. He also wondered how Leaf reacted, knowing she was the one who begged him and Professor Maple to keep their mouths shut. Daniel turned from his thoughts to Ryan, answering his statement.

"Of course she's tough! She's my cousin!" Daniel said.

"She is? Now I really wanna battle her, right Pikachu?" Ash excitedly asked Pikachu, who shared his fire.

_"Yeah!"_ Pikachu agreed with a cry.

"But, she can't battle, for some reason," Ryan added knowing, somewhat, why Leaf avoided battling.

"Huh? Why?" Ash asked as he replayed the scene from earlier where Leaf ducked out of the lab when Daniel mentioned a battle between her and Ash.

"Well, Professor Maple told me that she lost her will to battle. I honestly don't know what he meant," Ryan answered truthfully, as he honestly didn't know himself. Daniel took a moment to think, should he tell these guys more? He figured he shouldn't explain in complete details, but general events.

"I can explain." Daniel decided to say.

"Really? If you could," Ryan asked as his curiosity was peaking.

"Sure," Daniel replied, sure he wanted to. "It's a long story though," He warned, even without most of the details.

"Well," Ryan looked around for a wall clock or something. He found one near the top right corner of the lab door leading to the foyer on the wall. It was definitely not an Octillary clock, but it was a standard analog clock with the long hand for minutes, and the short hand for hours. A red and white Pokeball symbol was at the center where the two hands met. The metal black frame seemed to help echo the ticking of the seconds hand, which was red, and moving at a tick-tock pace; now that Ryan noticed. He read the current hand's positions and unless he never learned how to correctly read time, he read the time; seven thirty. Ryan also looked out the windows of the lab, seeing the disappearing sunset being replaced with a moonlit sky.

_"Hmm, almost nighttime already? And I gotta battle Professor Maple later too!" _Ryan thought as he looked at Eevee, Umbreon, and Squirtle. How would they react to having to battle? Would they even obey him? Ryan turned his attention back to Daniel, Ash and Dawn as he asked them something.

"I think we have time, right guys?" Ryan asked everyone. Ash and Dawn nodded in agreement as Ryan looked for approval from Eevee, Umbreon, and Squirtle. Eevee happily nodded, content Ryan finally came back. Umbreon nodded as well, figuring it wouldn't hurt to listen to another story. Squirtle, who was pretending to not listen at all while he was facing the other way, shrugged, giving his silent approval.

"Okay, that's settled," Ryan turned his attention to Daniel now that everyone was willing and ready to listen. Squirtle shifted his body position to the point where he was facing halfway towards and halfway away from the group, which in his case qualified as eavesdropping.

"I'll begin then. You see, my cousin came from Kanto, from a small town," Daniel started, purposely leaving the name of the small town out, but still getting hi story across.

Ryan remembered most of Kanto from his gameboy adventures, figuring since he was in Sinnoh and from the reaction from Professor Maple when he found out Ash was from Kanto, Ryan thought two things. One, Kanto had to be far away, like a foreign country, and two, _"She's from Kanto? What's she doing in Sinnoh?" _Ryan recalled a fully colored world map of the Pokemon World he had looked at briefly in a book he flipped through where Sinnoh was more northern than other countries that remained on the map; the map in the book itself was torn, hiding other countries that Ryan probably didn't know about.

"She lived with her mom, who was a top breeder, and her dad, who was a strong trainer," Daniel thought that strong was an understatement, at least, according to what he heard from his brother. Professor Maple had told Daniel stories that he had heard about Leaf's dad; about how he bested legendary pokemon in battle with his loyal pokemon by his side. The stories were kept within the family itself, yet to be spread, knowing how much publicity would a literal "legendary trainer" would draw. Daniel recalled a strict telling off from his big brother when he wanted to brag to one of his friends one day, warning of him to never, ever tell anyone. When Daniel questioned why, especially if Leaf's dad had been missing for a long time, Professor Maple avoided the question, earning speculation from Daniel, even up until the present.

"Was?" Ryan noted the past tense used in Daniel's explanation. Daniel paused to think of careful words to use before continuing, taking caution to not reveal any family secrets.

"Her dad disappeared when she was young. I can't remember the details," Daniel revealed carefully, and before anyone could ask any questions about him, Daniel added, "And her mom?" The tactic worked as everyone shifted their attention to the mom and her fate.

"I'll get to that later," Daniel added suspense to his tale successfully. "Anyways, when my cousin turned ten, she travelled to... what was it, Pallet- that's it! She traveled to Pallet Town in order to get a Pokedex and her first pokemon from Professor Oak." Daniel said, holding back a few pieces of information.

"Whoa, she got her Pokedex from Professor Oak too?" Ash blurted out.

"Well, Ash, it's not like you're the only one to ever get a Pokedex, especially from Professor Oak!" Dawn said to him, amazed at Ash's surprise.

"Heh... I guess you're right." Ash rubbed his head as Pikachu seemed to sweat drop, a little embarassed at his trainer's slip up.

_"So, Professor Oak is here too!"_ Ryan took a mental note, confirming his suspicions from earlier.

"Hey Daniel, a new trainer gets to choose a pokemon to start out with, right? So, what did Le- she choose?" Ryan stopped himself from using Leaf's name in the nick of time. Daniel wore a panicked look on his face as he thought Ryan was about to blurt out Leaf's name.

_"Wow, that was close,"_ Ryan and Daniel thought as Daniel continued with his explanation, acting like nothing happened, even though Ash and Dawn looked confused from the looks Ryan and Daniel had on their faces for a split second.

"Well, she had a choice between three pokemon; Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur," Ryan wasn't surprised at all; he knew the three Kanto starters well, but he just wanted to make sure they were still the starters in the world he was currently stranded in. "She ended up choosing Bulbasaur," Daniel told.

"A Bulbasaur, huh," Ryan muttered as he pictured the blue-green, four legged, frog-like pokemon with a brighter green bulb on it's back and darker green spots on it's face.

"She and her Bulbasaur travelled around Kanto, challenging gyms to compete in the Pokemon League that year. She ended up placing fourth overall," Daniel informed Ryan, Ash and Dawn, who all showed what they felt- stunned.

"Her first league, and she came in fourth?" Ash said in amazement as he recalled his first Pokemon League run and how "brilliantly" it turned out.

"Yeah, after congratulations from her mom, and us, of course, she decided to set off to Johto. After that conference, she placed sixth overall," Daniel continued, seemingly listing Leaf's achievements.

"She really is strong!" Ash said, amazed at the sharp contrast to the fleeting girl from earlier.

"Wait until you hear this," Ryan said to Ash. _"Sevvi Champion!" _Ryan thought in amazement as Ash looked at him with a wondering look.

"Huh? What do ya mean?" Ash asked as Daniel prepared to answer his question.

"What Ryan meant was; after Johto, big bro and I suggested to her to go to either Hoenn or here in Sinnoh. Instead, for some reason, she left for the Sevvi Islands. It turns out that there was a tournament and she ended up becoming a champion!" Ash and Dawn's jaws could've been counted as having been dropped to the floor.

"What? She's a champion?" Dawn and Ash asked in unexplainable surprise. They had met other champions before, with the most recent being Cynthia, but Leaf was one of the youngest champions that, even Ash, have ever met. Leaf didn't even carry that "air" of a champion, or even the confidence to battle, Ash thought.

_"Champion?"_ Pikachu said to Piplup, who was still hanging on top of Dawn's head, reacting as her trainer did and then some, before Pikachu talked to him. Piplup regained part of his composure, pretending to wave it off.

_"Eh, I bet he's bluffing! She didn't seem like a champion earlier,"_ Piplup noted with a hollow questioning look on his face.

_"Were you paying any attention?"_ Pikachu asked. _"The story was to help explain why the girl was acting strangely!"_

_"Of course I was! While I was, err... meditating," _Piplup shrugged off awkwardly, rubbing the back of his bead with one of his wings.

_"Okay,"_ Pikachu shrugged as he turned back to the conversation. He was going to leave this one alone.

Dawn put her finger to her chin, pointing up as she thought; almost like she had seen Leaf before. She snapped her fingers suddenly. "Oh! I think I know who she is now!" Dawn said in realization.

"Gah!" Daniel and Ryan panicked as they seemed to huddle a little closer together, preparing to brainstorm, knowing they were supposed to keep Leaf's name, her identity, a secret; even though Ryan had no clue as to why.

"Really?" Ash asked turning to Dawn, interested in learning who Leaf was.

"I think so! I remember hearing something about the Sevvi Islands tournament on TV a year ago, way before I started my journey! Let's see," Dawn stood in thought once more as Ash looked at her, waiting for Dawn to remember Leaf's name. Ryan and Daniel looked at each other in a panic.

"Uh, what if she remembers Leaf's name?" Ryan whispered into Daniel's ear. Eevee, who was still perched on Ryan's shoulder, leaned in between Ryan and Daniel and listened in.

"I hope she doesn't! Leaf was pretty clear about why she didn't want anybody knowing her name," Daniel whispered back. Ryan wondered the reason why Leaf was paranoid of anyone knowing her name.

"Really? Why? All she told me was-" Ryan was interrupted as Dawn seemed to recall Leaf's name! Daniel and Ryan turned around, preparing to divert Ash and Dawn's thoughts away from Leaf, but the preparations were in vain.

"I guess I can't remember her name," Dawn said after her moment of thought.

"Ah, oh well," Ash said, knowing Dawn did her best trying to remember Leaf's identity. A sigh of relief came from Ryan and Daniel, knowing they had dodged a bullet. Daniel chose this moment to continue with his narrative.

"As I was saying, she became the Sevvi Champion, but," Ash, Dawn, and Ryan turned their attention once more to Daniel, who stopped after but, unintentionally adding a dramatic pause.

"But what?" Ryan asked, a little annoyed at the sudden stops.

"Instead of being happy, she seemed disappointed... and sad," Daniel said, as he recalled mental images of his cousin visiting him and Professor Maple after her win. Leaf's face spoke more than a thousand words that day, and they weren't good.

_"Disappointed and... sad?"_ Ryan thought as he couldn't piece it together. _"If someone had beaten everyone else and become the best, they should be at least somewhat happy!"_ He looked over at Ash and Dawn. He could tell from their faces that they were thinking along the same lines.

"And what happened recently didn't help at all," Daniel added.

"What... do you mean?" Ryan asked, not seeing how bad things could get.

"It's something sad, really sad. I think she should be the one to say anything," Daniel finished, knowing it'd be the right thing to do.

"Hmm... I understand, if that's that, then that's that." Ash said with understanding. There're things everyone keeps to themselves, and for good reasons, he reasoned. Everybody nodded in agreement, even Eevee and Umbreon; even Squirtle quietly grunted to himself in approval.

"Yeah," Ryan muttered, knowing Daniel was right about Leaf being the one to say anything about it.

_"I wonder... it's none of my business though,"_ Ryan thought in curiosity as he gazed at the black framed, Pokeball background, analog wall clock next to the lab door. As he glazed his eyes over the hands, their meaning hit Ryan like a brick.

"Oh no! I completely forgot!" Ryan blurted out as he recalled a certain agreement he made earlier.

"Forgot what?" Dawn asked him.

"It's another long story, I'll explain later, but long story short; I have a battle with Professor Maple in... Forty five minutes!" Ryan explained as he estimated the time he made the agreement with Professor Maple.

"Whoa! You're battling my brother?" Daniel asked in awe as Eevee, Umbreon, and Squirtle bewilderingly looked at Ryan.

_"Battle?"_ Squirtle thought, wondering why Ryan would even think of commanding him in a battle. Umbreon and Eevee had a difference in opinion, by far.

_"That sounds great! What do you think sis?"_ Umbreon said with excitement as he looked up at Eevee. She looked at Ryan, who was looking at her to see if she agreed or not, and back down.

_"Yeah! Count me in!" _Eevee nodded.

"Does that mean you guys want to battle?" Ryan asked Umbreon and Eevee, to make sure they didn't nod in a trivial manner.

_"Yeah!"_ They both nodded once more. Ryan was glad the two of them wanted to battle alongside him. Now, there was one more tiny turtle that had yet to answer. Ryan turned around to Squirtle.

"Squirtle?" Everyone turned to the tiny turtle, who had turned around in a stunned motion with his arms still crossed. An unreadable look graced Squirtle's face as he was deep in thought. Little by little, he felt compelled to agree, but as Ryan smiled at him, something just wouldn't budge in Squirtle, causing him to turn back around and face the other way.

"Well, I guess that's fine..." Ryan said in a hidden disappointing tone as he turned to Eevee and Umbreon. Now that they were on board, Ryan wanted to make sure he wouldn't lead them into a mess, like the other night.

"Okay guys, I think we need to train real quick. Only problem is, I have no idea how," Ryan admitted. Ash raised his arm and placed it on Ryan's shoulder, getting his attention.

"Hey, I can help ya with that!" Ash offered to Ryan's pleasing. In Ryan's head he was in complete shock; he was going to learn how to battle from Ash Ketchum himself!

_"Me too!"_ Pikachu raised his arm.

"Really? You would?" Ryan asked as he held his smile.

"Of course! Where are ya gonna battle Professor Maple?" Ash asked.

"Knowing my brother, he probably said the lab's outside battle arena, right?" Daniel came into the conversation and asked Ryan, who replied with a nod. "I can lead you guys to it, it's in the back of the lab,"

"Alright, let's go!" Ash suggested as everyone nodded and started to leave the lab, following Daniel.

"Okay, lets!" Ryan started walking when he looked back, noticing Squirtle was still facing away.

"Squirtle, are you coming?" Ryan asked and getting no reply. Eevee and Umbreon were a little shocked at Squirtle's behavior.

_"Why is he so stubborn about Ryan?"_ Eevee asked as she looked at Squirtle from Ryan's shoulder.

_"I think he just needs some time alone, that's all sis,"_ Umbreon answered with empathy.

"Well, okay Squirtle, you can come down whenever you're ready. See ya!" Ryan waved as he approached the lab door, ready to leave the lab through it to follow the others to the battlefield.

_"I hope you have a change of heart soon..." _Ryan thought as he saw Squirtle staying his ground. He almost closed the door, but a wooden doorstop was on the ground on the outside of the door leading to the lab. Ryan quickly slipped the doorstep so Squirtle had a way out; he figured Squirtle wouldn't be able to reach the silver knob of the lab door. He left the doorstop and followed the others.

_"Hmph..."_ Squirtle turned and looked around, realizing he was the only one left in the lab. He looked through the windows of the lab, seeing signs of the sunset fading away, giving away to the approaching moonlight.

_"Battle? I'm not his pokemon. Did he even say I was?"_ Squirtle sighed in his thoughts. _"I'm starting to trust this Ryan kid, but I don't know if I should... I should at least keep an eye on Eevee and Umbreon." _Squirtle decided and approached the lab door. He noticed he was not even close to being the correct height to use the lab door, but then he noticed the small opening made by the wooden doorstop Ryan placed there earlier.

"_Glad this thing's here, otherwise I'd be stuck here," _Squirtle thought as he left through the opening and out into the lobby. A sudden rustling noise startled Squirtle. _"What was that?"_ Squirtle swore he saw something move behind a plant's pot._"Must've been my imagination. Now, let's see,"_ Squirtle walked off into the hall that lead out of the lobby to find the arena. As Squirtle walked away, a head that graced a white fisherman hat popped out from the plant pot's cover.

_"Wasn't that Squirtle with that one trainer?"_ Leaf thought and shrugged.

_"I wonder what's it doing? Maybe it's trying to find him. I could help," _Leaf decided. She figured she should, considering she was about to head down to the battlefield herself.

"Squirtle!" Leaf called out, standing up out from her cover, to Squirtle, who looked back at the girl calling him, realizing who she was.

_"Wasn't that the girl they were all talking about back there?"_ Leaf walked up to Squirtle and asked,

"Are you looking for your trainer?" Squirtle looked appalled, from what Leaf could tell.

_"He's not my trainer!"_ Squirtle crossed his arms. Leaf could tell Squirtle seemed annoyed at the phrase, "your trainer", especially from the look on his face.

"What I meant was, were you looking for Ryan?" It took a moment for Leaf to remember his name; she only heard it once or twice from Professor Maple.

_"Yeah."_ Squirtle nodded, figuring he should since Leaf probably didn't understand him.

"I think they're down at the battle arena, I can show you the way," Leaf motioned for Squirtle to follow her down the hallway.

_"I shouldn't follow her... but I guess it's better than wandering around aimlessly." _Squirtle decided as he ran up to Leaf and walked next to her as the two of them went off to find the battle arena.

* * *

"Hey professor!" Professor Maple greeted his former teacher with a pleasant wave, disguising the serious matter of the things he was about to discuss with him.

"You wanted to see me, Matt?" Professor Rowan asked as he closed the door behind him.

"Yeah, I did. It's about my research, or rather, things associated with it," Professor Maple mysteriously said as Professor Rowan slightly raised an eyebrow.

"Go on," He said as Professor Maple began his explanation.

"You see, as you know, my excavation team has been exploring ancient ruins on the outskirts of town. And, I believe I already told you in the letter I sent?" Professor Maple referenced, remembering the urgent message he sent along with it.

"Hmm... You mean the second hieroglyph you mentioned?" Professor Rowan asked.

"Yeah. It's just like the first one depicting the Dialga and Palkia struggle, only," Professor Maple seemed to shift around in discomfort.

"Only...?" Professor Rowan wanted to see what the problem was.

"The depiction, it's not real clear, so we need to rely on the translation. I managed to decipher a bit of the text... and I'm already chilled," Professor Maple said as a shiver conveniently traveled down his spine. Professor Rowan knew something was up, seeing that he knew Professor Maple didn't get chills easily. The discovery must have been of a huge magnitude.

"The few words said something about the god of pokemon," Professor Maple continued, emphasizing the words, "god of pokemon."

"The god of pokemon?" Professor Rowan was a bit speechless at the one topic researchers have been trying to crack for decades- no, centuries!

"I've only heard myths of the god of pokemon's existence with no historical validity but, this may be a legitimate source." Professor Maple added, knowing his mentor's interest was perked. As much as Professor Rowan wanted to know more, he knew this could've been told to him via phone. Something else must have gone wrong.

"So, what was the urgent message you needed to tell me?" Professor Rowan asked, knowing the discovery wasn't the only thing his former pupil wanted to tell him about. "You mentioned it was too dangerous to mention over the phone line in your letter," Professor Maple gulped a bit.

"Another part of the text I translated mentioned," Professor Maple paused.

"Mentioned what?" Professor Rowan asked.

"Of a way to control the god of pokemon," Professor Maple Rowan understood the magnitude of Professor Maple's statement.

"A way to control the god of pokemon? What is that knowledge doing here in Arrowroot?" Professor Rowan wondered aloud.

"I honestly have no idea, but the text mentioned an object to control the god being sealed away, but... it left a clue to find it," Professor Maple said with an unfortunate tone of voice.

"Hmm... Is that what the construction nonsense is about? It's too quiet for constructing anything," Professor Rowan noted, recalling the excuse his former pupil used earlier in the day, and Professor Maple's weird behavior.

"You're as sharp as ever professor. I just hope _they_ aren't as sharp," Professor Maple commented, knowing Professor Rowan couldn't be fooled.

"Who are they?" Professor Rowan felt like he was playing twenty questions.

"Here," Professor Maple got up from his recliner behind his desk and shifted a few papers that obscured a light brown, crumpled little piece of paper. Red ink engraved the paper, adding a creepy atmosphere to the note. He picked it up and handed it to Professor Rowan. "Recently, while my team and I were at the site... we were attacked," Professor Rowan wore an awed look; an attack on an excavation was unheard of! "The weird thing about the attack was, it was just a smokescreen, and a few seconds later, and this note was tacked onto the cave wall," Professor Maple went on, motioning for Professor Rowan to read the note.

_**"Expect an army to come for your research in seven days. The day has come for us to rise once again."**_

"No signature," Professor Rowan noted as he examined the back and front of the note for anything his former pupil could've missed. "So this is why you've been somewhat on edge?" Professor Rowan's question was answered with a nod. Professor Rowan felt like he finally pieced it together now.

"Is it the seventh day?" Professor Maple nodded as his former mentor added, "What have you done to prepare?"

"I locked the photos of the second wall and the part translation in the conference rooms next to the library. An eye scanner is needed to get in there," Professor Maple answered as he had the feeling he was being scanned by Professor Rowan.

"Is that all?" Professor Rowan asked.

"No, Emily, my receptionist, and I usually patrol the area at night, especially ever since the note came," Professor Maple explained. Professor Rowan put his hand to his chin.

"Hmm... What about your cousin, Leaf?" Professor Maple wore a concerned look as Leaf was mentioned.

"She's still out of it, professor. I've tried everything I could to snap her out of it, but the fact that my aunt died recently hasn't helped," Professor Maple added with a small hint of sorrow in his voice.

"Hmm... indeed. So that leaves only you and Emily for tonight?" Professor Rowan hid his concern as he went on.

"Unfortunately, yeah," Professor Maple answered with a one sided frown.

"I could ask Ash and his friends for their assistance in this matter. Do not worry, they are more capable than they look," Professor Rowan said as he noticed an objective look from Professor Maple.

"I'd prefer to not have them involved professor," Professor Maple didn't want kids fighting his battles for him.

"Would you rather have the key to the god of pokemon fall into the wrong hands?" Professor Rowan retorted.

_"We need more help, but these kids... I can't let kids do my battling for me! Even that older one, Ryan," _Professor Maple thought as looked at the clock in realization. _"Wait a moment,"_

"Oh no! I forgot! I only have five minutes!" Professor Maple suddenly yelled as he ran out from behind his desk, opened the door and leapt out in a hurrying fashion, leaving Professor Rowan stunned. Professor Rowan held the door before it shut and looked out at his former pupil running down the hallway.

"Wait! What's so important Matt?" Professor Rowan yelled to him as Professor Maple turned around, running backwards.

"I made a promise to somebody, professor!" Professor Maple yelled back, and before Professor Rowan could ask, Professor Maple added, "I gotta battle Ryan!"

"Now? But-" Professor Maple turned around and ran even faster down the red rugged hallway, disappearing from sight before Professor Rowan finished.

_"Still as reckless as ever,"_ Professor Rowan thought as he ran out of the study in order to tail Professor Maple. A crisis, on epic proportions, was on the verge of happening, and all Professor Maple could think about was a battle.


	12. Back to the Basics! Part 5

**5/1/11- I might have skipped quite a few chapters in the revisions, but this battle irked me, with the lack of many things. hopefully you enjoy this! **

* * *

"Okay Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash commanded to Pikachu. Pikachu nodded as he started to sprint faster and faster until a white trail appeared behind it, showing his speed and power in his attack. Eevee stood, battle ready, but didn't know what to do. Ryan had to act quickly.

"Jump, Eevee!" Ryan quickly commanded in response. His command reached Eevee in time as she nodded and jumped. Eevee looked down and saw Pikachu run past her previous spot. Pikachu stopped his Quick Attack and turned to see Eevee land gracefully on her paws.

"Wow, Eevee can jump!" Ash commented as Ryan agreed with a thumbs up. Eevee gave a slight hop for joy as she absorbed their praise. Umbreon rolled his eyes, since he knew she could actually jump higher, while Ryan couldn't help but chuckle at the cute scene.

"Ryan, try to attack Pikachu!" Ash told him. Ryan nodded as Eevee focused her attention back to the battle, thanks to a quick shout from Umbreon.

"Let's see... Eevee, use Sand-Attack!" Ryan commanded. Eevee nodded as she began to slightly dig into the battlefield's dirt and gather piles of it in her paws. She rapidly tossed streams of a dirt and sand mix towards Pikachu.

"Pikachu, jump and use Iron Tail!" Ash calmly reacted. Pikachu jumped with a slight spin, dodging Eevee's Sand-Attack. Pikachu's tail started to glow with a steel shimmer as he began his descent.

_"Iron tail? What's that? I gotta do something!"_ Ryan frantically thought. He was caught off guard by Iron Tail, but he quickly pulled himself together. This was what Ash was training him for! It was time for him to show what he learned.

"Eevee, roll to the side to dodge!" Ryan quickly commanded as Pikachu slammed into the ground with its Iron Tail. Eevee had leapt to the side, narrowly escaping Pikachu's attack, but she was slightly hurt from the sheer power from Iron Tail's collision with the battlefield.

"Eevee! Are you alright?" Ryan asked as Eevee was still laying on the ground, panting in fatigue. She panted a few more times and quickly got to her paws.

_"Y-yeah!"_ Eevee determinedly said as she got up and faced Pikachu, who stood waiting. Pikachu knew Eevee was worn out, just from looking at her. Eevee was covered in a mix of sweat and dirt from the multiple attacks Pikachu threw at her. Umbreon was surprised at Eevee's drive.

_"Come on sis, you can do it!"_ Umbreon cheered. However, he knew his sister didn't much energy left.

"You can do it Eevee!" Dawn cheered on from her bench. Piplup also gave words of confidence as he sat next to his trainer.

_"Ash really knows how to train people! Ryan and Eevee seem so much more in sync now!"_ Dawn thought as she looked between Eevee and Pikachu, who seemed to be enjoying themselves. After Daniel led them to the outdoor battlefield and left to take care of homework, she decided to sit in on Ash's training session with Ryan.

"_Eevee looks really tired. Then again, they've been training for about an hour!" _Dawn noted in her thoughts. Eevee's fatigue was obvious to everyone watching, as she continued heavily panting.

"Hey Eevee, why don't you take a break? Come on back here!" Ryan suggested. Eevee hesitated for a second before deciding to run over to Ryan, who kneeled down to pet her. He felt Eevee's exhaustion through her moist fur.

"Take a nice long rest, okay?" Ryan half asked and half stated to Eevee. She nodded as she sat next to Umbreon and exhaustingly laid down on her belly. Ash looked at them and decided to give them a break. He called Pikachu back, who jumped onto Ash's shoulder, and walked over to where Dawn sat.

"Phew! I think it's time for a break," Ash said as he sat next to Dawn. Pikachu hopped from his shoulder and onto the bench, where Piplup was. The two pokemon high fived each other, something they picked up from their trainers, and began talking.

"No kidding! You guys have been training for nearly an hour straight!" Dawn remarked as she checked her Poketch clock.

"An hour?" Ash said in utter surprise. "Didn't seem like an hour."

"Well, you were totally into the training, so it's not too surprising. Awesome job, training him!" Dawn complimented as they looked at Ryan, who was sitting next to Eevee. He was making funny faces at Eevee, making her giggle uncontrollably. Umbreon couldn't help but smirk at the faces.

"Thanks, but it wasn't really me, you know?" Ash said, which slightly confused Dawn.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Dawn asked. Was she missing something? "You helped them out, right? So..."

"Only a little bit. Well, a lot with the type stuff. I mean, they're still rough around the edges, but they aren't looking too shabby either!" Ash said. He knew the massive amount of time it took to help Ryan understand most of the pokemon type advantages. The explanation took a good portion of the hour they had trained in.

"Once they caught on, they seemed like naturals!" Ash commented as he looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, but it still shone through the partly cloudy sky. He felt a gentle wind blow across the battlefield, carrying loose bits of dirt and sand along with it.

"So, I see you've been training!" A voice suddenly said, causing everyone to find the source. Professor Maple stood on the end of the battlefield where Ash was earlier. "I can't wait to see what you've picked up," he added as he pulled a Pokeball from his lab coat pocket. Ryan quickly stood up with Eevee in his arms.

"Just a sec!" Ryan told him as he quickly ran over to the bench where Ash and Dawn sat. "Do you guys mind if Eevee rested here?"

"Sure," Dawn nodded as she took Eevee into her arms. Eevee yawned and cuddled up on Dawn's lap as she closed her eyes for a nap. Ryan thanked her and went back to Umbreon's side.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Ryan yelled across the battlefield. It felt like the wind was picking up, as more loose sand and dirt from earlier started flying.

"Okay then," Professor Maple enlarged the Pokeball in his hand and threw it in the air. "Let's go, old pal!" The Pokeball opened in midair, releasing the pokemon inside onto the battlefield. A light purplish cat with a tail that split into two at the end appeared as Professor Maple caught the Pokeball and pocketed it.

"_What is that?" _Ryan thought as he examined the pokemon Professor Maple sent out. "_Maybe the Pokedex knows." _He pulled the Pokedex out from his pocket and flipped it open.

**ESPEON: THE SUN POKEMON. IT USES THE FINE HAIR THAT COVERS ITS BODY TO SENSE AIR CURRENTS AND PREDICT ITS ENEMY'S ACTIONS.**

"_An Espeon? What type is it? Oh, how do I work this thing?" _Ryan thought as he tinkered with the Pokedex's controls.

"It's a Psychic type!" Ash suddenly yelled out to Ryan. Ryan yelled back a thank you as he closed and pocketed the Pokedex.

_"It probably wouldn't hurt if I could get an instruction manual on the Pokedex... but anyways, Espeon senses an enemy's actions through air currents?"_ Ryan thought as he felt the wind coming toward him.

"Espeon's weak against Bug, Ghost and Dark types and Shadow Ball's a Ghost type move!" Dawn yelled advice to Ryan.

_"Isn't Umbreon a Dark type?"_ Ryan wondered as he looked at Umbreon. "Umbreon, you ready?" Umbreon nodded with determination.

"Alright, lets do this, Umbreon!" Umbreon hopped onto the field and into a battle stance. Espeon calmly stared at the battle ready Umbreon, which slightly confused him.

"I'll let you make the first move, Ryan!" Professor Maple offered.

"Okay then!" Ryan wasted no time in choosing his attack. "Umbreon, use Shadow Ball!" Umbreon charged his Shadow Ball in nearly a second and a half and fired.

_"Shadow Ball!" _Umbreon called as Shadow Ball flew with a high speed towards Espeon, leaving behind a trail of shadowy particles.

"Shadow Ball should be really effective against Espeon!" Ash commented. Dawn looked at Professor Maple, who stood still, not giving Espeon the command to dodge. Espeon merely looked back at Professor Maple and they both nodded.

"_Why isn't Espeon dodging?" _Dawn wondered as Shadow Ball hit, causing an explosion and caused smoke to appear around where Espeon was.

_"Wow, could it have really taken one hit? No..."_ Ryan thought. His suspicions were confirmed as the clouds of smoke lifted. Espeon was safe, behind a shining yellow barrier.

_"What the?"_ Umbreon reacted in surprise. _"How did Espeon take that head on?" _Umbreon wondered. Ryan unknowingly repeated the same question aloud.

"Light Screen," Professor Maple said as the smoke completely cleared up.

"It reduces special attack damage," he continued to explain. Espeon lowered Light Screen, shook its fur and stretched it's legs out.

_"Shadow Ball didn't even scratch Espeon!" _Dawn noted. It looked like Espeon had woken up from a nap, instead of being in a battle.

"Looks like it's our turn. Espeon, use Agility!" Professor Maple told Espeon as it nodded and started to pick up speed as it ran. In a split second, Espeon disappeared from Ryan and Umbreon's sight.

_"Whoa!"_ Umbreon remarked as he tried to keep an eye on Espeon. It was like Espeon was invisible! Espeon literally ran circles around Umbreon, waiting for a command from Professor Maple.

"Espeon, use Swift!" Professor Maple finally commanded. A barrage of stars flew by Espeon and toward Umbreon. Ryan instinctively reacted with:

"Quick, jump up and dodge it Umbreon!"

_"Gotcha!"_ Umbreon jumped as Ryan said, avoiding Swift's stars. Swift completely missed Umbreon!

"I wouldn't say you're in the clear yet," Professor Maple smirked. The Swift attack suddenly swerved around and hit Umbreon in midair, sending him flying and tumbling on the ground.

"Umbreon!" Ryan called out as Umbreon landed and rolled back in front of him. "You alright?"He asked Umbreon, who got up, looked back and nodded.

_"That's good..."_ Ryan looked at Espeon and thought, _"Maybe I can lure it closer and use Bite?"_

"Okay Umbreon, use Shadow Ball again!" Ryan said as he pointed at Espeon.

_"Shadow Ball!"_ Umbreon fired the Shadow Ball as soon as it formed. Professor Maple debated on whether or not to mix it up, after all, if he really wanted to end the battle... he would've done it in the first thirty seconds. He figured he may as well see what Ryan was planning.

"Espeon, dodge!" Professor Maple commanded. Espeon disappeared from sight, thanks to Agility raising Espeon's speed.

"Where'd Esp-" Ryan's answer appeared in front of Umbreon before he could finish. Umbreon took a step back in surprise. "Quick, use Bite Umbreon!"

"Dodge, and use Headbutt!" Professor Maple countered. Umbreon lunged at Espeon with his Bite attack and nearly made contact before Espeon disappeared from sight again.

_"Huh? Argh!"_ Umbreon thought for a second before being slammed from behind with a Headbutt attack from Espeon.

"No! Umbreon!" Ryan gritted his teeth as he went over his remaining options and plans. _"What can I do? Espeon's too fast to attack, even up close!"_ Umbreon got up to his feet, breathing heavily.

_"Umbreon's tired... this battle might not last much longer!" _Ryan thought as Espeon looked back at him. It almost looked like it was smirking at him.

* * *

_"Matt's definitely letting him have it,"_ Leaf thought as she stood a distance away from the battlefield. Squirtle stood by her side, also watching the battle occurring. The two arrived at the battlefield around the time Ash and Ryan began sparring with Eevee and Pikachu. Ever since, they stood watching events unfold.

_"Oh, come on Umbreon. If only Ryan could actually lead," _Squirtle thought as he looked at Umbreon, who looked tired.

"Squirtle, there he is. If you want to go to him, go ahead. It looks like he needs you," Leaf said as she took a seat on the grass.

_"Huh? What about you?"_ Squirtle asked. Almost as if Leaf could understand Squirtle, she answered:

"I'd rather stay here." Squirtle shrugged and decided it was her choice. He decided to "coach" Umbreon from the side, if Ryan couldn't get the job done, and ran off.

Leaf looked back and forth between Professor Maple and Ryan, who were issuing commands. _"It's been a while since I've even seen a battle."_

"Umbreon, use Shadow Ball!" Leaf heard Ryan give the command to Umbreon, who charged the Shadow Ball and fired it.

"Dodge, Espeon!" Professor Maple calmly countered. Espeon disappeared from sight once more as the Shadow Ball zipped past where Espeon was.

"Hmm. Umbreon may have the type advantage, but..." Leaf thought aloud. Espeon reappeared in front of Umbreon, and Professor Maple wasted no time.

"Use Headbutt!" Espeon charged at Umbreon with its head down. Leaf could have sworn Umbreon looked back at Ryan and they both nodded.

"Espeon's too fast. I wonder if..." Leaf thought aloud again, but she was suddenly interrupted.

"Thinking about a way to beat Espeon, Leaf?" Leaf turned around to see where the voice was coming from.

"Professor Rowan!" Leaf said as she saw him. Professor Rowan smiled and walked over to where Leaf was and sat down next to her.

"I hear you have been having issues battling," Professor Rowan started. Leaf only stared at the ongoing battle as Professor Rowan spoke.

"Umbreon, jump and aim Shadow Ball at the ground!" Professor Rowan and Leaf saw Umbreon jump up and dodge Espeon's Headbutt.

"I don't think so! Use Light Screen, Espeon!" The yellow barrier popped up around Espeon as Umbreon fired Shadow Ball. The attack hit the barrier, causing an explosion and smoke to appear like last time.

"Is that all you've got?" Professor Maple called out through the smoke.

"Hmm... Matt is not a defensive kind of trainer, wouldn't you say Leaf?" Professor Rowan asked. Leaf blankly stared down at the battlefield, but answered Professor Rowan's question in her head.

_"He's right... is Matt testing him? Then again, Matt probably would have settled this in a few seconds, if he wanted to."_ Leaf suddenly saw Espeon fly back with a cry.

* * *

"Espeon! You alright?" Professor Maple asked. Espeon nodded and faced the clearing smoke. Umbreon stood, panting heavily. Professor Maple was surprised that Ryan could actually land an attack on Espeon.

_"Come on Umbreon, you can do better than that!"_ Umbreon turned around to see Squirtle standing next to Ryan.

_"Squirtle!"_ Ryan and Umbreon said as they realized Squirtle was next to them.

_"You... actually... came!"_ Umbreon said through his breaths.

_"Well, someone had to keep an eye on you two,"_ Umbreon seemed to sweat drop at Squirtle response.

_"I guess Squirtle isn't going to change his mind about Ryan anytime soon,"_ Umbreon thought. _"But he should, sooner or later. Even he's not this stubborn enough to keep this up."_

_"Umbreon, you have to focus on the battle!"_ Squirtle reminded him before he drifted off into his thoughts.

"You ready to go again, Umbreon?" Ryan asked after few seconds of letting Umbreon catch his breath.

_"Yeah,"_ Umbreon nodded as he took a couple of deep breaths and faced Espeon, who calmly stood waiting.

"I see you've found a way past Light Screen!" Professor Maple yelled out to Ryan.

"I just recalled something you said about Light Screen; it blocks Special Attacks and since it does, apparently Shadow Ball's a Special Attack," Ryan began to explain. He thought maybe it would give Umbreon some more time to rest if he could drag this out.

"So, how'd you get Shadow Ball past Light Screen?" Professor Maple curiously asked.

"Shadow Ball didn't get past Light Screen, so I just had Umbreon crash down with a Quick Attack under the smoke's cover," Ryan finished explaining.

_"So... he sort of realized Quick Attack wasn't blocked by Light Screen. Not bad for a rookie," _Professor Maple thought as Espeon looked back at him. They looked at each other, like they were conversing, until Professor Maple shrugged and Espeon turned back to the battle.

"Good work you guys!" Ash cheered along with Pikachu and Piplup. "He finally landed an attack on Espeon!" Ash said to Dawn, who still held the sleeping Eevee in her lap.

"Yeah, but look at Umbreon!" Dawn pointed at Umbreon, who was panting heavily. "It must be super tired from taking those attacks from Espeon," she noted. Ash took a look at Umbreon and at Espeon. Umbreon looked battered up, while Espeon still looked fresh and ready for battle.

"You ready over there?" Professor Maple asked as Espeon stood ready for another attack. Ryan hesitated. What else could he do? The one attack he landed on Espeon had little to no effect on it,and Umbreon was worn out!

"_If only Umbreon could hide somewhere for a brief moment before attacking... like a jack-in-a-box. But where could he hide? There's only the ground and nothing more. Hold on," _Ryan thought as he looked at the battlefield. Small dents from the pokemon attacks littered the ground. _"I've got an idea!" _

"Umbreon, could you come over here real quick?" Ryan called. Umbreon nodded and ran over to Ryan, who kneeled down and started talking in a low voice.

"I know you're exhausted, but I've got a plan," Ryan began, to Umbreon and Squirtle's interest. "Okay, so here's what you do..."

_"Huh? What's he doing?" _Professor Maple thought as he saw Ryan acting something out.

* * *

"What is he doing?" Professor Rowan thought aloud.

"I have no idea professor," Leaf said as she looked at Ryan, Umbreon and Squirtle. Ryan was motioning with his hands and pointing to the ground, while Umbreon and Squirtle listened.

"He must have some sort of plan... look at what he's doing," Professor Rowan said as he and Leaf noticed Ryan using both of his hands to motion at the ground. He used both hands to scoop up a pile of dirt and he pointed at the hole left behind.

"I wonder..." Leaf thought aloud. "Is he trying to teach Umbreon a new move?"

* * *

"And that should let you rest for a bit before attacking! You ready to give it a shot?" Ryan asked Umbreon, who nodded. "Okay, let's finish this!" Umbreon jumped onto the field to continue the battle. Squirtle couldn't believe what Ryan had planned.

"_There's no way this can work, no matter how good the plan is. Umbreon's too tired," _Squirtle thought.

_"So, it looks like they have a plan now. Let's see what it is,"_ Professor Maple thought. Espeon nodded, almost like it heard Professor Maple's thoughts.

"Umbreon, Shadow Ball!" Ryan commanded. Umbreon launched a charged Shadow Ball at Espeon. The Shadow Ball was smaller than the earlier ones, signaling his fatigue.

"This is getting kind of old... we'll mix it up. Light Screen!" Professor Maple commanded. The Shadow Ball hit the Light Screen, and it produced an explosion and cloud of smoke like earlier. Professor Maple took a guess on Ryan's plan. "I'm guessing you added something after you charge in with Quick Attack, huh? Not this time, Espeon, use Swift!" Stars flew by Espeon and through the cloud of smoke, dissipating it.

_"What the?"_ Professor Maple exclaimed in his head as he saw Umbreon digging its way into the ground. _"Umbreon's using Dig!"_ He realized, but quickly noticed something.

"_Umbreon's too tired to dig. It's not going to dodge it in time," _he thought as he saw the foot deep hole Umbreon made. Umbreon was still slowly digging, but he was too tired to keep going. Swift landed its mark, sending Umbreon back in front of Ryan.

"Umbreon!" Ryan thought he saw swirls in Umbreon's eyes as Umbreon lay dazed on the ground. He thought he was seeing things; that stuff was for cartoons.

"I guess we can call it a battle there!" Professor Maple said as he pulled out Espeon's Pokeball.

"Great job Espeon, take a nice, long rest!" Espeon nodded as it returned to it's Pokeball when the red beam hit it. Professor Maple pocketed it and proceeded towards Ryan.

"Aww man, Umbreon was close to using Dig!" Ash said to Dawn. They both looked at the spot Umbreon used Dig; the hole was shallow.

"Guess they have work to do with Dig, huh?" Dawn asked Ash, who nodded as they got up from the benches and approached Ryan.

"Umbreon, you did great out there," Ryan said as he took Umbreon into his arms.

_"Thanks..."_ Umbreon thanked Ryan as he looked up. Battling was more tiring than he originally thought.

"Hey, that was a nice battle! It was your first, right?" Professor Maple asked as he approached Ryan.

"Thanks professor. Yeah, it was our first battle," Ryan answered.

_"Hmm, this kid really did decent for his first battle... he's still got some kinks to work out, but..." _Professor Maple thought as he looked back at the shallow hole.

"You did great with that into consideration," Professor Maple said to Ryan. _"Is that Leaf?" _He noticed Leaf and Professor Rowan walking up to the field.

"Hey! I thought you were going up to your room?" Professor Maple asked. Ryan was confused as to why he asked him that, until he realized that he was talking to somebody else. He turned and saw Leaf and Professor Rowan walking up to him.

"Squirtle wanted to find him, so I helped out," Leaf answered, motioning towards Ryan.

"Oh. Thanks!" Ryan said as he looked down at Squirtle in slight amazement.

"Hmm, really...? Then what're you still doing here?" Professor Maple pressed on. Leaf stammered for a second, trying to come up with an excuse, but failed.

"Got'cha...!" Professor Maple exclaimed with a wink. _"Maybe getting her back into battling won't be as hard as I originally thought..."_

"Hey, great job you guys!" Ash complimented as he and Dawn approached Ryan.

"Thanks, but it's mostly thanks to you! I mean you did help me out alot," he reasoned.

"It was mostly you! It might've taken a bit for you to learn, but once you got it, you were like a natural," Ash commented. Ryan rubbed the back of his head with one hand as his other arm held Umbreon. He was getting complimented by Ash Ketchum! Ryan gladly fist pumped in his head.

"Matt," Professor Rowan cut in urgently. "Now that the battle is over, what are you going to do about the other thing we discussed?" He looked at his former pupil with a serious stare.

"Huh? What are you guys talking about?" Ryan asked. Professor Maple hesitated for a second.

_"Should I tell them? Professor... why do you want them involved?"_ Professor Maple debated in his head. Was it wise to mention this to the kids? He knew Professor Rowan had faith in them, but he wasn't so sure. Then again, if his mentor trusted them, he figured he should too.

"Well, I think everybody should listen in then," Professor Maple reluctantly motioned. A hint of a smile appeared on Professor Rowan's face.

"Before you tell us, can we get back to the Pokemon Center? For Umbreon and Eevee?" Ryan asked, looking at the sleeping Eevee in Dawn's arms.

"Oh! And we need to check up on Brock!" Dawn suddenly remembered.

"I guess so, but we can't waste time. Come on," Professor Maple motioned for everybody to follow him back to the Pokemon Center.

_"I wonder, why's he serious all of a sudden? It must be big, whatever it is."_ Ryan thought as he followed the others. He looked up at the sky as hints of the setting sun were beginning to disappear.


	13. Back to the Basics! Part 6

"Ahh... Meatball Soup has never tasted so good!" Professor Maple commented.

"Wow! This is amazing Brock!" Nurse Joy complimented.

"Really?" Brock suddenly jumped to his knees in front of Nurse Joy and held her hands.

"But it's not as amazing as you-" Brock was interrupted by a Croagunk Poison Jab to the back.

"-But not as amazing as Croagunk's persistency..." Brock collapsed comically and Croagunk dragged him out of the dining room.

_"I wonder if Brock will ever learn..." _Ryan thought as he took a sip of soup from his spoon. As the gang returned to the Pokemon Center to have Umbreon checked out, they realized they had forgotten to eat! Thanks to Ash's stomach, they were reminded. Brock was found helping Nurse Joy with dinner, so the group decided to have the story told while they were eating.

So the group now sat at a round dinner table. Ryan sat between Daniel and Leaf, Ash sat between Brock and Dawn, the Professors sat next to each other along with Nurse Joy, and Pikachu, Piplup, Eevee and Squirtle sat on the table eating Pokemon Food. Ash and Dawn were talking about battle techniques, Brock was busy recovering from Poison Jab, Professor Rowan calmly ate his food with urgency, Nurse Joy finished early to go check on the pokemon, and Ryan, Daniel and Leaf looked on at an occurring scene next to them.

"Well, Professor Maple, I know you didn't wanna waste time, but..." Ryan said as he noticed Professor Maple wolfing down the soup as fast or even faster than Ash.

_"If I could sweat drop, I'd be sweat dropping right now..." _Ryan thought.

"Wow Matt, calm down!" Daniel warned.

"You might want to, you might choke on the meatball-" Leaf was a little late- Professor Maple clenched his airway, choking. Leaf reached over and forcefully patted Professor Maple's back, causing Professor Maple to stop choking.

"Here, take a drink of water," Leaf handed Professor Maple a glass of water and he drank it.

"And slow down!" Leaf added.

"Alright, alright!" Professor Maple said after chugging the glass of water.

"You know big bro, sometimes I feel like the older one..." Daniel commented with a gleam on his glasses.

"Is that right?" Professor Maple and Daniel started arguing back and forth, in a trivial, but comical way.

Ryan let out an awkward laugh at the situation. Professor Maple apparently had something big to tell, but here he was, being chastised by his seven year old brother.

_"Daniel does seem somewhat mature for his age... definitely not like Carter's brother, that's for sure!" _Ryan thought. His thoughts shifted to the serious air earlier- he figured it was time to see what was up.

"Professor Maple," He and Daniel stopped talking to listen.

"I was wondering, what was up earlier? You seemed serious, like something had happened." Ryan continued.

"Nothing has happened... yet." Professor Maple's answer caught the attention of everyone at the table.

"What do you mean, _yet_?" Ryan asked.

Professor Maple looked at Professor Rowan, who nodded, and turned back to Ryan.

"I've already told Professor Rowan about this, and it took longer than I thought... I can give you the short story."

"That's fine with me." Ryan said.

"Basically, a while ago, when my team and I were working on the ruins, we were attacked."

"Attacked? By who?" Ryan asked. His eyes shifted momentarily to the others in the room. Brock had recovered from Poison Jab and sat in his chair, listening alongside everyone else. Daniel and Leaf seemed surprised, as if this was the first they've heard of the incident.

"I have no idea. No one was hurt, but, a note was left behind, pinned on the cave wall. It warned of a mass attack in seven days for my research."

"Seven days? For your research?" Ryan redundantly asked.

"Yeah, and guess when the attack happened? Exactly seven days ago." A gasp confirmed shock from everyone.

_"So, they're coming back today, huh..." _Ryan thought.

"Basically an army's coming for your research? What were you researching?" Ryan asked as his curiosity peaked.

_"Maybe he found something on Interdimensional traveling?" _Ryan hoped in his head.

"He stumbled upon something beyond anyone's imagination." Professor Rowan cut in.

"Matt had discovered a second wall beyond the first one, and it described of a way to control the god of pokemon."

"The god of pokemon?"

Shocked looks appeared around the room. Pikachu, Piplup, Eevee and Squirtle shared the human's concerns.

_"He found a way to control the god of pokemon?" _Piplup restated.

_"Apparently... this could spell trouble." _Pikachu said.

* * *

"Hi, how can I help you?" Emily the receptionist asked the man who came through the front doors of the laboratory. The man wore light brown pants and a red sweater, which complimented his eyes that were covered by shaded sunglasses.

"I am here to see a Mr. Professor Maple." The man stated.

"I'm sorry, he's not here." Emily told him.

"Although he is eating dinner over at the Pokemon Center with a few kids and Professor Rowan..." Emily thought aloud.

"Hmm, that's... a shame. I would not want to interrupt him during such a time- I will come back later." The man said.

"Okay then, I'll tell Professor Maple you were here, and he'll schedule-" The man left before Emily could finish.

_"That was weird... who wears sunglasses at night?" _Emily shrugged it off and went back to work.

_"Hmm... Professor Rowan and some kids... unexpected, but..." _The man walked out of sight, beside the laboratory, and under it's window.

_"This'll work out a lot better than the plan!" _The man stripped his attire and threw it aside, revealing a black sneaking suit, black boots and gloves, and a small radio earpiece was attached to his ear. He suddenly pressed the earpiece activating it.

"Are you in position?" The man said through it.

_"Roger! Indeedy! Aye-aye!" _Three different voices rang through the earpiece.

"Good. Then you'll like to know we are switching up the plan."

_"What? But what about our perfect part?" _The voice responded.

"The professor is currently eating dinner with Professor Rowan and some kids at the Pokemon Center. Your orders are to distract them if I happen to trigger an alarm."

A response was lagged, but the man heard a group huddle in the background.

_"Should we? He did promise helping us with catching Pikachu..."_A clear decision was made.

_"We got'cha."_

"Good. After the heist, meet at the rendezvous point as instructed."

_"Aye-aye!" _The earpiece clicked off.

The man snuck over to the back of the laboratory. A simple locked door was standing, waiting for him.

_"This should be simple." _The man took a lock pick out from his pocket and skillfully jabbed it into the lock. Click! The door silently swung open. The room the door led to was surprisingly dark- it had stairs leading down into a basement being dimly lit by a single faint light bulb.

_"According to the blueprints, the circuit breaker should be down there..." _

_

* * *

_

"And that's all I've translated so far." Professor Maple finished explaining his findings to Ash, Dawn, Brock, Leaf, Daniel and Ryan. Professor Rowan sat silently as his student explained.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier Matt?" Leaf started. "I could've helped you keep an eye on those translations!"

"I thought it'd be better for you to have time alone, that's all. I was gonna tell you-"

"Were you gonna tell me? Brothers don't keep secrets!" Daniel jumped in.

"This is pretty serious, Dan. A possibly dangerous group's coming for those translations..." Professor Maple dodged the question.

"I know, but-" Daniel was cut off by a hand up from Leaf, telling him to drop it.

"Okay..." Daniel reluctantly dropped the subject.

"And, because of this situation, I need everybody's help tonight to help guard the translations. It'll be dangerous-" Ash stood up from his chair.

"Hey, no need to worry! We'll help ya out!" Ash said as Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder, agreeing.

"That was my line, Ash. I'll help too!" Dawn also stood up. Piplup gave an agreeing cry.

"Me too!" Brock went along.

"You already know I'll help." Leaf added.

"Me... uh, five!" Daniel jumped in.

Ryan wanted to help, but he needed to ask Eevee and Squirtle if they wanted to.

"_They aren't my pokemon, so I shouldn't drag them into anything…" _Ryan thought.

"Hey, you guys wanna help out too?" Ryan asked, turning to face them.

_"Definitely!" _Eevee nodded. No response from Squirtle.

_"Squirtle, come on, you can't be-" _Eevee turned around- Squirtle had disappeared!

"Huh? Where's Squirtle?" Ryan asked. Everyone turned to him.

"I saw it over there with Pikachu and the others last time..." Ash said.

_"Where could Squirtle have gone?" _Ryan thought.

"Hey, Eevee, lets go look for Squirtle, whaddya say?" Ryan asked Eevee.

_"Yeah!" _She hopped onto Ryan's shoulder.

"I'll be back guys- I'm gonna go look for Squirtle." Ryan turned to leave.

"Hold it," Ryan stopped at the sound of Professor Maple's voice.

"Take this little contraption." Ryan turned and looked at the little earpiece he held out in his palm.

"It's a low distance radio I designed one day- if we need you, I'll call you through it." Professor Maple explained.

"Got'cha." Ryan took the earpiece and stuck it in his right ear. He turned to leave again.

"I'll see you guys in a bit!" He left out of sight with Eevee.

"Okay, now the rest of you, we need to form a plan..." Professor Rowan moved various dishes aside for the placement of a map.

* * *

_"Wait!" _Eevee turned her head suddenly as Ryan rushed past the Pokemon Center's reception desk.

_"Brother!" _Eevee said as Umbreon hopped from the table and ran up to Ryan.

"Your Umbreon is in tip top shape now!" Nurse Joy said.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy!" Ryan thanked.

"Umbreon, we kinda have a problem- Squirtle's gone missing..." Umbreon's ears twitched.

"I'm going out to look for Squirtle. You wanna come along and help?"

_"Of course!" _Umbreon nodded.

"Good, lets go!" Ryan, Eevee and Umbreon left through the front door and out of the Pokemon Center.

* * *

"And you two go around this area." Professor Rowan finished explaining.

"Right!" Ash and Dawn acknowledged.

"Okay, everybody is paired up now, right?" Professor Maple asked.

Professor Rowan's plan was to have groups of two patrol areas around the laboratory and the Pokemon Center throughout the night. If anything suspicious is seen, the groups are supposed to send a signal.

"I will stand up on the roof of the Pokemon Center and keep a visual upon the situation." Professor Rowan said.

"That's fine, you _are _getting old..." Professor Maple joked.

"Professor Maple!" Nurse Joy ran through the dining room door.

"Nurse Joy, what's wrong?" Professor Maple asked.

"Emily just called- the power's out at the lab!"

"No way!" Professor Maple rushed out of the room, leaving the others.

_"There's no way the power should be out!" _Professor Maple thought. He ran through the halls of the Pokemon Center and out through the doors, heading for the laboratory.

* * *

"Emily! Where are you?" Professor Maple looked around the darkened front of the lab.

The reception desk that usually had Emily was empty!

_"Didn't she just make a call to Nurse Joy? So... where'd she go?" _Professor Maple looked behind the reception desk. Every electronic device was off- since the power went off. A jumbled mess of papers were on the desk and floor.

_"Emily wouldn't leave papers on the floor like this... I gotta find her!" _Professor Maple turned away from the desk and thought.

_"Hmm... this is starting to look like someone broke in... Wait, if that's true- The translations!" _Professor Maple booked out of the moonlit front area of the lab and through the dark hallway leading to the top library floor.

_"Argh! I can barely see anything!" _Professor Maple halted his thought as he heard a voice echo through the hall.

"Double Kick!" Two loud booms also echoed through the hall.

"What was-" The lights suddenly turned back on!

* * *

"That should do it!" Emily wiped her face with a smile as she looked at the open circuit breaker.

"Someone was messing with this... thank goodness for the spare fuses, otherwise-"An alarm suddenly went off. Red strobe lights lit up the circuit breaker room.

**WARNING. BREACH IN CONFERENCE ROOMS ONE AND TWO. WARNING. BREACH IN CONFERENCE ROOMS ONE AND TWO.**

"Oh no! The translations!"

* * *

Professor Maple ran up to the source of the voice earlier as red strobe lights started going off.

_"Yeah, I know there's an intruder already!" _Professor Maple thought in annoyance as he heard the repeated warning.

Professor Maple suddenly stopped in front of the conference rooms.

_"The doors! They've been blown to bits!" _Professor Maple noted as splinters of wood lay across the floor. A man stepped out from the second room with a rolled up poster like object.

_"The translations!" _Professor Maple realized.

"Stop!" Professor Maple reached for and grabbed his Espeon's Pokeball.

"I don't think so." The man enlarged a hidden Pokeball and threw it. A white light dissipated to reveal a pokemon.

"Smokescreen." He ordered.

A dark heavy cloud of smoke appeared before the silhouette of the pokemon disappeared to reveal it.

"Can't... breathe!" Professor Maple coughed as he covered his nose with his hands.

_"He's gonna get away!" _Professor Maple thought.

The man returned his pokemon to it's Pokeball and darted off past Professor Maple.

"No!" The man shoved Professor Maple to the ground as he made his escape.

_"I gotta stop him!" _Professor Maple thought as he watched helplessly from the ground. He was coughing severely.

_"Stupid asthma... Espeon! I need you!" _As Professor Maple thought, Espeon popped out of it's Pokeball- almost like it had heard it's trainer's cry of help!

_"Matt!" _Espeon realized it needed to work fast as it saw Professor Maple wheezing on the ground.

"I- need- you to-" Professor Maple coughed out. "-Fol-low the m-an with- a lot of- black on!" He pointed towards the front. "Go-out the- front door!"

_"But..." _Espeon did not want to leave it's trainer in a compromised condition.

"Go!" Professor Maple told Espeon, who reluctantly obeyed and ran off.

_"Where's my inhaler?" _Professor Maple dug around his lab coat pocket.

_"Here it is!" _Professor Maple wasted no time in using the precious medication. A few inhales later, his coughs stopped and he started breathing normally.

_"I hope Espeon can catch him... I gotta get the others!"_

Professor Maple got up from the ground and started running back towards the front hall.

_"Wait, I gotta find Emily first!" _Professor Maple hesitated- if those translations fell into the wrong hands... but he couldn't leave Emily.

"Matt!" Professor Maple turned his head around.

"Emily! Where were you?" Professor Maple asked as he reached the front desk.

"I was in the back fixing the circuit breaker!" Emily explained.

"You fixed it?" Professor Maple shook his head, there'd be more time for questions later.

"Are you alright, Matt?" Emily asked as Professor Maple started wheezing slightly.

"I'm- fine... Call the others at the Pokemon Center- the translations have been stolen!"

Emily gasped and covered her mouth.

"Oh no! I'll get right on it- let's go, Matt!" Emily led Professor Maple to her paper jumbled covered desk. She moved a few papers out of the way to reach the phone.

"What's with the mess Emily? Thought you were a neat freak..." Professor Maple commented as Emily dialed the Pokemon Center number.

"I'm not a-" An image of Nurse Joy popped onto the screen next to the keypad of the phone.

_"Emily?" _Nurse Joy looked at her screen. _"Professor Maple? Are you two alright? We heard an alarm coming from the lab!"_

"We're fine, but a thief ran off with the translations!" Emily told Nurse Joy.

"Tell Ash and his friends to get a move on and get the thief- except Daniel. My Espeon's tailing him as we speak!" Professor Maple added.

_"Right! I'll leave the line on." _Nurse Joy left the screen's visual.

* * *

"What?" Ash, Dawn, Brock, Leaf, and Daniel all exclaimed as Nurse Joy told them of the situation.

"This is bad... is big bro alright?" Daniel asked Nurse Joy, who nodded.

"We gotta get that thief!" Ash turned to Pikachu on his shoulder. "Let's go!" Pikachu nodded as Ash ran towards the front doors of the Pokemon Center.

"Us too! Come on, Piplup!" Dawn followed.

"I'd better go too." Brock added as he followed.

"Same here!" Leaf reached into her yellow side bag and grabbed two Pokeballs from inside and clipped them on her belt.

"Me too!" Daniel said.

"Now, hold on Daniel." Nurse Joy interrupted. "Your brother told me to make sure you stay at the center so you don't get hurt."

"Aww, but-" Daniel stopped, figuring he couldn't win this argument.

"Fine." Daniel crossed his arms. "I'll stay here."

"Wait!" Everyone turned their heads to see Professor Rowan running up to them.

"You have no idea where the thief ran off! How do you plan on finding him?" Professor Rowan asked the would be search party.

"Easy! I'll send Staraptor out to look for Professor Maple's Espeon!" Ash said as he unclipped Staraptor's Pokeball and held it in his hand.

"The night will reduce Staraptor's vision... unless Espeon could send a signal..." Professor Rowan thought aloud.

_"H-hey! Professor!" _Professor Maple's voice rang from the phone in the other room.

"Matt?" Professor Rowan ran over to the other room with the phone, with the others following him.

_"Yeah, it's me professor. I'll come along with them- remember the 'ability'?" _Professor Rowan's face shot a look of remembrance.

"You're right. Come and join them." Professor Rowan said.

_"Right, I'll-" _Professor Maple was interrupted by a sudden series of violent coughs.

_"Matt!" _Emily exclaimed. She dug into Professor Maple's lab coat pocket for his inhaler.

_"Here!" _Professor Maple took the inhaler and used the medicine.

_"You're not well enough to get out there- you know how bad your asthma gets!" _Emily warned. After Professor Maple was done using his inhaler and pocketed it,

_"But... they need me and the ability Espeon and I have!" _Professor Maple objected.

"She's right." Professor Rowan agreed. "I remember your violent asthma attacks- even with the inhaler, you would still cough. Stay with Emily while the kids search."

_"But professor!" _Professor Maple began to argue, but Emily interrupted.

_"No buts, mister- or should I say old man?" _Emily teased.

_"I am not an old man! You of all people should know! I'm only twenty one! We even went to Pokemon Day Care together!" _Professor Maple started rambling in annoyance. Emily sighed and turned to the phone screen.

_"Professor Rowan, I'll keep Matt over here to rest." _Emily said.

"Right. We'll report back soon." Professor Rowan said to Emily, who nodded with Professor Maple still rambling as the screen turned blank.

* * *

"Stop being rambunctious." Emily told Professor Maple.

"I'm not! And I used that word yesterday..." Professor Maple answered as he sat on the counter.

"You're reminding me of when you were a kid- you're still reckless as ever..." Emily smirked.

"Hmph. I'm worried about Espeon and those translations- I can't just sit here!" Professor Maple said.

"Well, just let those kids and Professor Rowan take care of it! They looked like they know their stuff." Emily commented as Professor Maple grumbled. Emily sighed.

"Wait a second- I forgot!" Professor Maple began digging through his lab coat pocket.

"What's wrong Matt?" Emily worriedly asked.

"Aha! Here it is!" Professor Maple held a little earpiece similar to the one he gave to Ryan earlier.

"I forgot Ryan has no idea all of this is happening! I gotta tell him and ask for his help..." Professor Maple held his earpiece into his ear and pushed a button.


	14. Back to the Basics! Part 7

"Squirtle!" Ryan called out into the forest.

_"Squirtle? Where are you?" _Eevee cried out as she walked next to Ryan and Umbreon.

_"Where could Squirtle have gone?" _Umbreon thought.

Ryan, Eevee and Umbreon searched around the forest near Arrowroot for approximately fifteen minutes. The night sky made itself prominent with a more complete, shining moon. The group was on a forest path marked with a dusty trail and lines of bushes.

"Boy, it's getting dark... I hope Squirtle's alright." Ryan thought aloud.

_"Yeah." _Eevee and Umbreon both nodded in agreement. Ryan combed through some bushes with no luck.

"Let's search over th-"

_"Hey!"_

Ryan jumped in surprise and fell on his backside, knocking Eevee off of his shoulder.

_"Ow..." _Eevee got up from the ground. _"What's going on Ryan?" _Eevee looked at Ryan with a wondering look.

_"What's up with Ryan?" _Umbreon asked Eevee.

_"I don't know brother! He jumped suddenly, like he was surprised by something..." _Eevee explained.

"Professor Maple?" Ryan suddenly said.

_"What?" _Eevee and Umbreon looked around. There was no sign of Professor Maple. Was Ryan going nuts?

_"Wait, listen carefully..." _Umbreon's ears twitched, almost like an adjusting antenna.

_"I hear Professor Maple... coming from Ryan's ear?" _Umbreon said surprisingly.

_"What? Let me go see!" _Eevee ran up to Ryan and jumped onto his shoulder.

"Oh! Sorry Eevee! Professor Maple called on the earpiece." Ryan pointed to the earpiece in his right ear. "See?"

_"Oh!" _Eevee nodded. She turned to her brother behind her, on the ground.

_"How does that thing work?" _Eevee asked.

_"I don't know- humans make the weirdest things..." _Umbreon commented.

"Uh huh. Okay. Yeah, no luck yet." Ryan answered to Professor Maple.

_"What's Ryan talking about?" _Eevee asked Umbreon.

_"Professor Maple asked if we found Squirtle yet..." _Umbreon's thoughts threatened to wander to his friend's whereabouts when a juicy bit of information came up.

_"What? The human translations were stolen?" _Umbreon commented.

"What? Espeon's following him? Okay..." Ryan said into the earpiece.

_"Are we still looking for Squirtle, brother?" _Eevee asked.

_"I don't know, but we need to get those translations back for the sake of pokemon across the world... We can't let a human control Arceus..." _Umbreon commented, wondering where the name Arceus came from.

_"Arceus?" _Umbreon thought.

_"Wait, who's Arceus? But... you might be right." _Eevee reluctantly agreed. She wanted to find Squirtle, but this sounded more important.

"Don't scratch those translations? Got it. I'll call back- the button? Okay. Bye." Ryan clicked the button on the earpiece and turned to Umbreon.

"We got a problem- the translations were stolen by a thief! We gotta get 'em back, right?" Ryan said to Umbreon, who nodded in response.

"Professor Maple told me his Espeon is still chasing the thief. We should probably find Espeon, right?" Eevee and Umbreon both nodded.

"Okay, let's hurry before the thief gets away!" Ryan, with Eevee on his shoulder, and Umbreon picked their pace up and started running through the forest with two objectives in mind.

_"Come on Squirtle... we need you too!" _Ryan thought.

* * *

"Okay, bye." Professor Maple pressed the button on his earpiece and turned to Emily, who was in front of the phone again. Nurse Joy appeared on the screen.

"Emily, what's up?" Professor Maple asked as he walked up to her."I'm about to find out," Emily answered then turned to Nurse Joy. "What's up?"

_"We have a situation here- Ash and the others were leaving the center to go after the thief, but a giant robot dropped down from the sky!"_

Professor Maple and Emily widened their eyes in disbelief.

"Say what?" They both said.

_"I'm afraid so. Ash and the others can't get past the robot- none of their attacks are working!" _Nurse Joy told them.

* * *

A giant, stick figure-like robot stood nearly three stories tall, facing Ash and company. The robot was like something a little kid drew in a kindergarten class...

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash pointed at the giant robot.

_"Thunder... bolt!" _Pikachu jumped up into the air with a twirl to increase the voltage through his body before launching the Thunderbolt.

"Piplup, use Whirlpool!" Dawn pointed at the robot. Piplup launched water straight up into the air. where it formed a giant whirlpool. Piplup launched the attack at the robot.

The Whirlpool splashed all over the robot, leaving it drenched. Then the Thunderbolt hit, causing an explosion- which sent smoke flying.

"Alright! We did it!" Ash proclaimed.

_"Hee-hee! Not so fast!" _An intercom-like voice rang out from the smoke.

"What?" Ash said.

"Look!" Brock pointed out past the clearing smoke- the robot was still standing with barely a scratch!

"No way!" Dawn said in disbelief.

_"We know your bag of tricks inside and out, twerp!" _Team Rocket called out as their robot struck a mocking pose.

"Electric attacks won't work!" Ash said.

_"It's like they never do..." _Brock thought.

* * *

"Well, I gotta go help them then!" Professor Maple said.

_"No, you're not." _Professor Rowan appeared next to Nurse Joy.

_"Remember, we need to get those translations back, not get distracted." _Professor Rowan continued.

"Ash and the others, what about them? And Leaf?" Professor Maple asked.

_"Matt," _Leaf appeared on screen as well.

"Leaf! I thought you went with Ash!" Professor Maple said.

_"I called her in before she left- good thing, since Team Rocket's keeping Ash and the others busy." _Professor Rowan explained.

"Huh? Who's- What... nevermind. What are we gonna do?" Professor Maple asked.

_"We? Matt, you're in no shape to wander around! I'll meet up with... Ryan? Was that his name?" _Leaf finished with a question.

"Yeah. Wait, how're you getting past Team Rocket?" Professor Maple asked.

_"Easy." _Leaf pulled out a Pokeball and enlarged it.

* * *

"Espeon!" Ryan called out into the forest.

_"I don't see Espeon anywhere..." _Umbreon noted.

_"Me neither, brother." _Eevee said.

"Guys, see any sign of Espeon, Squirtle, or the thief?" Ryan asked.

_"No..." _Eevee and Umbreon shook their heads as they stopped on the forest path. Ryan sighed.

"I wonder how we're gonna find them at this rate?" Ryan scratched the back of his head.

_"Ryan, you there?" _Professor Maple's voice suddenly rang in Ryan's right ear.

"Yikes!" Ryan jumped, but didn't fall over. Eevee fell forward, off of Ryan's shoulder, but Ryan caught her before she landed on the ground.

"You alright?" Ryan asked. Eevee nodded as Ryan set her down and pressed the button on the earpiece.

"Professor, what's up?" Ryan spoke through the earpiece.

_"Listen, Ash and the others were going to go and search for the thief, but they're being kept at bay by Team Rocket..." _Professor Maple told Ryan.

"Team Rocket? What're they doing here?" Ryan said aloud.

_"I don't know, but the others can't help you- except Leaf, she's headed towards the forest outside of Arrowroot."_

"Okay. Got'cha."

_"Brother, did you hear that?" _Eevee asked.

_"Yeah, that girl called Leaf's coming to help us." _Umbreon said with a nod.

"How's Leaf getting here, Professor? Isn't Team Rocket blocking their way?" Ryan asked.

_"She's flying." _Professor Maple plainly said before cutting off.

"Wait! Professor!" Ryan clicked the button again to try to restore the connection.

_"Dang, either this thing's broken, or I'm out of range..." _Ryan thought. He turned to Umbreon and Eevee.

"Guys, Leaf's coming- flying here. Don't ask me how. We have to send a signal for her so she knows where we are!" Ryan told them.

_"Right! I got it!" _Umbreon nodded then faced the night sky.

_"Shadow..." _Umbreon's eyes caught the moon. _"...Ball?"_

Umbreon fired a Shadow Ball, but not like the night he evolved. This Shadow Ball was whimsical, wobbling back and forth toward the sky.

_"Brother, what's wrong?" _Eevee saw the reason her brother lost focus.

_"The moon? You're still..." _Eevee realized her brother's fear of the moon still hasn't gone away!

"Umbreon! You okay?" Ryan noticed Umbreon blankly staring at the sky.

"Umbreon, you gotta snap out of it!" Ryan kneeled down in front of Umbreon, with Eevee next to him.

_"Yeah, what Ryan said! Come on brother!" _Eevee nudged Umbreon with a little force. The nudge shook Umbreon from spacing out.

_"Aah! Where- sis!" _Umbreon said in surprise.

_"Brother! You were staring at the sky like a Slowpoke!" _Eevee said.

_"I was?" _Umbreon was confused.

_"You don't remember?" _Eevee asked him.

_"No... all I remember was charging up Shadow Ball... Wait! Where'd-" _Umbreon looked up. The Shadow Ball was still wobbling towards the sky.

_"That's my Shadow Ball?" _Umbreon asked his sister.

_"Yeah! You were spacing out while you focused it... I thought you saw the moon or something..." _Eevee said.

_"The moon...! That's right- I did! ...Gulp." _Umbreon remembered the sight of the moon and seemed to shrink in stature.

_"Come on, brother! You're an Umbreon! You're supposed to like the moon!" _Eevee said.

_"Well... I'll get back to you on that." _Umbreon said nervously. Eevee let out a sigh.

"Umbreon, you alright?" Ryan asked after letting them talk for a bit.

_"Yeah." _Umbreon nodded.

"That's great, the way you were spacing out had me worried... The Shadow Ball seems a little weird though. Oh well, as long as Leaf saw- Hey!"

Ryan noticed a shadow floating in the sky, coming towards them. Eevee and Umbreon both turned to see the shadow as well.

_"Brother, what is that?" _Eevee asked.

_"I don't know, but don't you smell that? There're two scents coming towards us!" _Umbreon said.

_"Two? I only see one!" _Eevee tried looking for the second mysterious shadow, but failed.

"Wait a second... It's a bird- No! Not just any bird... I know what that is!" Ryan thought aloud. The shadowy figure hovered over where the Shadow Ball was launched and began to descend. Leaf was on the back of the giant bird, which was bigger than Staraptor! It had a tan color, black markings around it's eyes, red and yellow colored head feathers that were nearly as long as it's body, and it had red tail feathers.

"That's a Pidgeot!" Ryan pulled out his Pokedex and opened it to get Pidgeot's entry.

**PIDGEOT: THE BIRD POKEMON.**

Leaf and Pidgeot landed a few feet away, but next to Ryan. The wind from Pidgeot's wings blew by Ryan as the Pokedex entry continued.

**IT SPREADS ITS GORGEOUS WINGS WIDELY TO INTIMIDATE ENEMIES. IT RACES THROUGH THE SKIES AT MACH-2 SPEED.**

_"Wow! Mach-2? That's super fast!" _Ryan thought as he closed the Pokedex and pocketed it. Leaf disembarked from Pidgeot's back and pet it.

"Thanks Pidgeot..." Leaf thanked with a half smile.

_"No prob!" _Pidgeot chirped as he looked at Leaf. Pidgeot knew what was troubling Leaf, even though this was the first time in a while he flew. Leaf turned to Ryan.

"Any luck finding the thief?" Leaf asked.

"No, and I couldn't find Espeon either! I was talking with Professor Maple and then the line cut off!" Ryan explained.

"We can't get in touch with him?" Leaf frowned a bit and put her hands at her waist.

"He really could've helped us out... Wait!" Leaf seemed to have a "Eureka moment" as she opened her bag and dug through it to pull out a phone-like device.

"I nearly forgot I had my Pokegear with me! We can just call the Pokemon Center!" Leaf explained to Ryan.

"But isn't Professor Maple at his lab?" Ryan thought aloud.

"Yeah, but Nurse Joy can help- and it's better than wandering around aimlessly." Leaf said.

"Sounds good." Ryan didn't object as Leaf looked up the Arrowroot Pokemon Center number and dialed it. After a few dial tones, a screen of Nurse Joy popped up.

_"I'm sorry, we're experiencing a problem right now. Could you- Leaf! Ryan!" _Nurse Joy said as she saw their faces.

"Nurse Joy! We need the number for the lab- we need to talk to Matt." Leaf explained.

_"I don't think you'll need it, he's over here with Ash and the others!" _Daniel popped up and explained.

"He still went?" Leaf felt like saying something about his stubborness, but decided there'd be a time for that later.

"Can you guys get him here? It's urgent." Leaf asked.

_"Right away!" _Nurse Joy turned to Daniel. _"Could you stay here while I get your brother?" _

Daniel nodded.

"Dan, is Emily there with Matt?" Leaf asked out of curiosity.

_"Yeah, she's over here- Hang on a sec." _Daniel went off screen to grab Emily.

"Wait, I don't need-" Leaf couldn't say it in time.

"Shouldn't we keep moving?" Ryan asked as Leaf and him waited. "I mean, the thief might get away!"

"Normally that'd be a great idea, but we don't have a clue where to keep moving to!" Leaf said.

"But then how's Professor Maple gonna help us? He doesn't know either!" Ryan asked.

"But Espeon does." Leaf said.

"Huh? Espeon's chasing the thief, how-" Ryan was cut short as Nurse Joy and Professor Maple popped on screen.

_"Leaf, I see you've met up with Ryan!" _Professor Maple noted aloud.

"Yeah, but we don't know which direction the thief went! We need you to talk to Espeon." Leaf asked.

"What?" Ryan shook his head, dumbfounded.

"How-" Leaf shushed Ryan's question as Professor Maple began to talk.

_"I'll see where Espeon is." _Professor Maple said.

"Alright! Good, we'll wait a sec' then." Leaf said.

* * *

_"How can he keep running?" _Espeon was silently hopping through the bushes, following the thief.

_"He's been running for almost a couple of miles!" _Espeon noted as the thief kept running past trees and shrubs.

_"I have no idea if-" _Espeon stopped his line of thought as a familiar voice came into his head.

"Espeon, can you hear me?"

_"Matt! Are you alright?" _Espeon worriedly asked as he kept chasing the thief.

"I'm fine, how're things going on your end?"

_"I'm still chasing the thief- we must've ran at least a couple of miles!"_

"That far? Anyways, Leaf and Ryan are coming to help you, but they need help finding you! See any landmarks that'll help them find you?"

Espeon looked around. There were only trees, bushes, and more trees.

_"Nothing prominent... there're a ton of trees everywhere!"_

"So, you're not on the forest path?"

_"No, I'm deep in the forest! And it seems like he's looking for something- a place to meet up with someone." _Espeon noted.

"Okay. Leaf and Ryan are on the phone, I'll tell them that."

_"Wait, tell them I'll leave some kind of trail for them to follow!"_

"Okay old friend, be careful."

_"You're sounding older everyday." _Espeon joked.

"I am not!"

_"I'll give you updates if he does something." _Espeon said.

* * *

_"Guys, Espeon's still chasing the thief, but he's about a couple of miles deep in the forest!" _Professor Maple said after a minute and a half of silence.

"That deep?" Leaf commented.

_"And Espeon says that the thief seems to be looking for a place- like a rendezvous point!"_

"He might be handing the translations off to someone to get away!" Ryan commented.

"That could be the case!" Leaf agreed.

"Did Espeon say where he was?" She asked.

_"Espeon couldn't find any landmarks deep in the forest, but he said he'll leave a trail of some sort for you guys to follow." _Professor Maple said.

"Got'cha. Thanks! And stay out of trouble!" Leaf said.

_"What makes you say that?" _Professor Maple asked with a sly smile.

_"Matt Maple!" _Emily stood behind him, staring at him.

_"E-Emily! Uh... nice weather we- uh…" _Emily cracked her knuckles.

_"Mommy." _Professor Maple murmured as he shut the phone off. Leaf, Ryan, and the pokemon all seemed to sweat drop.

"Those two..." Leaf sighed, put her Pokegear away and then turned to Ryan.

"We'd better move."

"How?" Ryan definitely had more than one how question.

"We're going to fly on Pidgeot- It'll be faster." Leaf suggested.

"How am I gonna carry these two along?" Ryan asked, while motioning to Eevee and Umbreon.

"Don't you have any Pokeballs?" Leaf asked.

"I don't." Ryan shook his head. Leaf dug through her bag and pulled out a couple of reduced sized Pokeballs.

"Here, take these- they're empty." Leaf handed the empty Pokeballs to Ryan.

"But, won't that make me their trainer?" Ryan asked.

"It'll make them your pokemon, unless you release them later." Leaf explained.

"Guys," Ryan faced Eevee and Umbreon. "I don't want to force you guys to do anything you don't want to do..." Ryan pressed the buttons on the two Pokeballs, enlarging them.

"It's up to you." Ryan left the Pokeballs on the ground, in front of Eevee and Umbreon.

_"He really cares about our opinions that much? If only Squirtle were here..." _Umbreon let out a smirk.

_"Well sis, I know what I'm gonna do. Do you?"_

_"Did you have to ask that question? You already knew the answer." _Eevee ran up to the Pokeball on the right and nudged it.

_"I guess so!" _Umbreon ran up to the Pokeball on the left and nudged it. Both Eevee and Umbreon turned into a red energy like form as their Pokeballs opened up and captured them. Their balls both wiggled three times before they stopped. Ryan picked up the Pokeballs and looked at them.

"Don't worry... I'll take good care of you guys, I promise!" Ryan thought aloud.

"Hey, that's great and all," Ryan turned to Leaf, who was sitting on Pidgeot's back watching the scene. "But, we got a thief to catch!"

"Right!" Ryan pocketed Eevee's and Umbreon's Pokeballs and ran up to Pidgeot and climbed on.

"Hold onto me!" Leaf said as Pidgeot climbed up to the sky.

"Say what?" Ryan made sure he heard right.

"Don't get the wrong idea!" Leaf huffed as Ryan wrapped his arms around Leaf's waist.

"We've got a thief to catch, Pidgeot! Let's go!" Leaf said as Pidgeot took off soaring.

In a nearby bush, a tiny turtle rustled out from the bushes, bewildered by what he saw.

_"They went with him..." _Squirtle thought. _"He even gave them a choice." _Squirtle looked at the sky, seeing an image of his former trainer.

_"You never gave me a choice." _Squirtle now looked determined.

_"It's about time I helped this kid out." _Squirtle ran off in the direction Pidgeot flew.


	15. Back to the Basics! Part 8

Pidegot soared through the night sky as Leaf and Ryan rode on it's back. Unfortunately for Ryan, he soon found parallels between riding Pidgeot and a roller coaster. He started shivering nervously again, but fought with all of his might to suppress his fear. When it didn't work, he closed his eyes and unknowingly tightened his grip around Leaf.

"H-hey!" She exclaimed out of surprise as she turned to look at Ryan, whose eyes were tightly shut. He quickly loosened his grip as his face grew hotter.

"Sorry!" Ryan felt a wave of embarrassment flow through his body. Leaf simply shook her head and stifled her chuckles. "B-but anyways, how did Professor Maple manage to talk to Espeon even though they were miles away?" he asked, wanting to shy away from the current situation.

"Matt and Espeon share a unique ability that lets them do that," Leaf began to explain.

"A unique ability that lets them talk over long distances?" Ryan asked.

"More like telepathy, but it's only between the two of them," Leaf explained. Ryan almost got another question out, but Leaf quickly added:

"I'll explain it another time. It looks like the Murkrow and Honchkrow are lined up on top of the trees! That's odd..."

_"Murkrow and Honchkrow?"_ Ryan wanted get their Pokedex entries, but he figured doing it blindly in midair wasn't a good idea, to say the least. Plus, it'd involve him opening his eyes, which was something he definitely wanted to avoid at the moment.

"And they're all perched in one direction!" Leaf noticed. The Murkrow and Honchkrow were perched on top of the trees, facing in the direction of a mountain range barely visible in the distance.

"You think it's the trail Espeon left behind?" Ryan asked.

"I'm positive. Murkrow and Honchkrow wouldn't do this normally," Leaf explained without hesitation.

_"Sounds like she knows her stuff. She's a champion trainer, after all," _Ryan thought as Leaf looked in the direction the Murkrow and Honchkrow were directing them towards.

"That's Mount Coronet! Why would the thief be heading there?" Leaf wondered out loud. She had a suspicion on where he was going and if she was right... they had to hurry! "Let's get going, Pidgeot!" Leaf turned back to Ryan, who still had his eyes tightly shut. "You may want to close them even tighter, cause we've got to go faster!"

_"Right!"_ Pidgeot nodded as it picked up speed before Ryan could say anything. Why him, he wondered as he imagined he was somewhere else, preferably standing solid ground.

* * *

_"Hold still twerp, while we pick ya' to pieces!" _An annoyed voice came from the giant mecha robot as it wound a metal fist back, preparing to launch it towards a boy and his Pikachu running at it.

"Ash! Look out!" Brock yelled. Ash jumped to the side as a robotic fist landed on the ground. Pikachu dodged and before Team Rocket could react, started to run up the mecha's arm.

"Yeah! Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash ran up to the fist, before it suddenly lifted off the ground, and started climbing it with Pikachu. Before Dawn and Brock could protest, he yelled back:

"Don't worry about me, keep sending attacks at Team Rocket!"

Dawn and Brock nodded as they pulled out a Pokeball each. They had to trust in what Ash was doing and had to buy him some time. "Buneary, lets go!" Dawn called as she threw Buneary's Pokeball.

"Croagunk, use Poison Jab!" Brock said as he threw Croagunk's Pokeball. The two pokemon appeared and as Brock ordered, Croagunk began to charge, with toxic glowing fists, at Team Rocket's mecha.

"Buneary, help Croagunk out and freeze the legs with Ice Beam!" Dawn pointed at the robot's legs. Buneary charged the energy for a second and unleashed a chilly Ice Beam, freezing both of the robot's legs in place and encasing them in thick ice.

_"W-we're stuck!" _Meowth accidentally said over the intercom as he wiggled the joysticks that controlled the giant mecha's legs. They were hopelessly stuck in place.

_"Well, get us unstuck!" _Jessie bellowed. It was a big mistake, as Meowth rounded on her and started asking if she had any good ideas, leading to a furious argument between the two of them.

"There ya go, Brock!" Dawn gave a thumbs up and a wink. Brock returned the favor. Now he had a place for Croagunk to attack!

"Thanks! Okay, Croagunk, go!" Brock pointed at the legs. Croagunk quickly approached the legs, jumped up as it's hands glowed with a purplish glow of power, and jabbed them into the icy covering surrounding the legs. The ice shattered into a sea of shards as the mecha's legs began to wobble back and forth!

"Knowing Team Rocket, they probably bought another cheap robot..." Brock said as he and Dawn waited for the mecha's legs to collapse from the swaying. However... the dead opposite occurred. The mecha's legs suddenly stabilized as it posed in a mocking, triumphant pose. James's laughter echoed.

_"That hunter was right; this thing's indestructible!" _James carelessly declared as he finished breaking up Meowth and Jessie from their fight.

_"Say... where's the twerp dat was clim-" _Before Meowth could finish, Ash popped into the robot's cockpit where Team Rocket sat.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash said, pointing at the joystick controls in front of Meowth.

_"Thunderbolt!" _Pikachu jumped up with a charge around his body and shot it straight at the joysticks as Team Rocket watched in horror. It was a direct hit! Sparks and smoke started to fly from the controls as Team Rocket started to panic.

"Come on Pikachu, lets get outta here!" Ash felt Pikachu hop onto his shoulder as he started a hurried climb out of the mecha's cockpit. The smoke was growing, as well as Team Rocket's bickering in the background about inside insulation. Ash emerged onto the top of the mecha head. Without thinking, he quickly started climbing down the mecha's arm. A jump from atop the mecha's head was suicide!

"They're not gonna make it in time!" Brock realized as heavy smoke started leaking from the mecha. Ash was just starting his descent down the mecha's arm.

_"Meowth! Do something!"_ Jessie yelled in command.

_"Hold on, what's this blinkin' thing for?"_ Meowth noticed a yellow blinking light on the control panel. It was separated from the other controls, and it had a strange protruding receiver above it.

_"That's the signal! We need to go!"_ James said as he scanned around for a certain button on the control panel. _"Aha! Here we go!"_ James pressed a button with a picture label of a spring on it.

_"No! Not that one, you-" _Jessie was interrupted from her angry rant as she, Meowth and James were flung out of their seats and out of the mecha's control room, through the top.

"Why'd you press that button?" Jessie yelled at James.

"Look down there!" Meowth said, pointing back towards the mecha. Sparks could be seen coming from it now. The mecha was seconds away to exploding!

"If we had stayed there longer, we would've been fried Magikarp!" James commented, smug at his quick decision.

"Whoop de do. Now, how do we meet up with the hunter?" Jessie asked through her irritation.

"I-I... don't know," James finally admitted. Jessie and Meowth looked at him with a sweat drop, disbelief kind of look. There was going to be time during their landing to find out, but it was time for one of their trademarks...

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" The trio yelled as they disappeared with a twinkle.

* * *

The mecha was starting to fall apart! Nuts and bolts could be heard flying around in the mecha's insides, violently shaking it. "Pikachu! Hold on tight!" Ash said as he tightly held onto the metal arms. He had a long way to go to get down, but there wasn't enough time! Violent shaking loosened Ash's grip, and his sweaty hands weren't helping either. Suddenly, Ash felt himself sliding down... and back! Pikachu had slipped off from Ash's shoulder!

"Pikachu!" Ash called as he caught his friend in his arms, before he started to plummet. Dawn and Brock cried out his name in shock as Brock quickly pulled out another Pokeball and lobbed it into the air.

"Happiny! Catch Ash and Pikachu!" Brock called out.

_"Happiny!" _Happiny cried out as it appeared below the spot where Ash and Pikachu were falling. Thanks to it's unnatural strength, Happiny was easily able to catch Ash and Pikachu in it's small arms.

"Happiny! Thanks!" Ash said as Happiny happily nodded and quickly set them down.

"Run! It's going to blow!" Brock yelled as he quickly returned Happiny to it's Pokeball. Ash continued to hold onto Pikachu as he made a mad break for it. Small explosions sounded close behind him, quickly growing more and more ferocious!

"Get down!" Brock yelled as he covered Dawn and in her arms, Piplup. Croagunk followed suit and did the same for Buneary. The rumble behind Ash made him dive to the ground, huddled over Pikachu. There wasn't anymore time...

**Boom.**

The mecha finally erupted in a chain of violent explosions. Flames flew into the air as more and more explosions occurred. It was... the end, Ash thought. But something was weird- the explosions, although they were loud, they sounded a bit... muffled. And oddly enough, Ash didn't feel himself getting launched or burned by flames!

He opened his eyes and turned around. "E-Electabuzz?" The yellow and black bodied pokemon was struggling to hold a green barrier against the forceful flames of the explosions. Standing behind Electabuzz was a familiar sight to Ash.

"Paul? What're ya' doin' here?" Ash asked in shock. Paul looked back at Ash and gave a blank, unreadable stare then turned his full attention back to Electabuzz.

"Electabuzz, is that all you got? We'll never make it past the first round with this pitiful excuse for a Protect!" Paul called to his pokemon. He continued on and on, while Ash finally realized- this was practically training for them!

"Focus! Otherwise you'll get burned by the explosion," Paul continued to warn Electabuzz. Electabuzz seemed to heed those words as it's Protect barrier seemed to thicken in strength! The added focus was enough to contain the final explosions from the mecha, which was now a burning pile of scrap.

"P-Paul? What's he doing here?" Dawn asked as she and Brock looked up from their spot and started to get up.

"He must've used Electabuzz's Protect to save Ash!" Brock concluded as he checked on Croagunk and Buneary, who were both unhurt by the explosions.

"Wow, great job Electabuzz!" Ash praised Electabuzz as he got up from the ground. A slight hint of a blush seemed to linger for a second on Electabuzz.

"That wasn't," Paul objected at once. "Electabuzz should've been focused in the first place. A strong opponent would've finished it in a second," Paul finished as he quickly returned Electabuzz to it's Pokeball and began to walk away.

"Paul! Wait, I haven't thanked you yet!" Ash yelled out.

"You don't need to. All I saw was a perfect training exercise for Electabuzz. You just got lucky," Paul simply put without looking back and continued walking away. He eventually disappeared from Ash's and the others' sights.

"Pikachu, we're gonna beat him and win the Sinnoh League, right?" Ash suddenly said with determination.

_"Yeah! Of course!" _Pikachu agreed with a raised fist.

"Hey, Ash!" Ash turned around to see Dawn and Brock run up to him, along with Croagunk and Buneary, the latter of which looked beyond relieved.

_"Pikachu!" _Buneary cried out as she hopped over. Pikachu was knocked off of Ash's shoulder as Buneary hopped onto Pikachu and started to fiercely hug him.

_"I'm so glad you're alright!" _Buneary said.

_"T-Thanks! But you don't have to hug so t-tight..." _Pikachu said as he was crushed in Buneary's hug. The others couldn't help but laugh while Piplup jumped out from Dawn's arms and joined Pikachu and Buneary on the ground. With a grin on his face, Piplup walked over.

_"Pikachu's got a girlfriend! Pikachu's got a girlfriend!" _Piplup mocked.

_"No I don't! W-we're just friends-" _Pikachu stopped himself as he realized what he had just said in front of a sensitive Buneary. Buneary looked like her heart had split in two, and was close to tears!

_"B-Best friends!" _Pikachu returned the hug Buneary gave him earlier, which stopped Buneary from crying, but left Piplup in a dramatic pose.

_"B-B-best friends? I thought we were best friends!" _Piplup jealously asked.

_"Oh... This could take a while," _Pikachu thought as his ears drooped and a single bead of sweat dripped down his face while Piplup continued talking.

"We should probably go see where Professor Maple is," Brock suggested. "He was trying to contact Ryan earlier, so we'd better find him."

"Right, Brock! Okay, Buneary, take a nice long rest, okay?" Dawn said as she returned Buneary to her Pokeball.

"You too, Croagunk. Nice job!" Brock did the same and returned Croagunk into it's Pokeball.

_"Phew," _Pikachu couldn't help but sigh as a hugging Buneary disappeared back into her Pokeball.

_"Your girlfriend giving you trouble, Pikachu?" _Piplup playfully mocked while Dawn picked him up into her arms.

_"Hey! At least I have one... Wait, what?" _Pikachu thought as he hopped onto Ash's shoulder. With the smoke of the defeated mecha behind them, the group started their search for Professor Maple, and for an update on Ryan's situation.


	16. Back to the Basics! Part 9

_"So... this is Mount Coronet, huh?" _Ryan observed while Pidgeot descended onto the ground. The huge range of mountains stretched across a vast distance, into the horizon. The spot where Pidgeot had just landed was at the base of the mountain, where a small cliff suddenly elevated itself over the forest it was next to. Leaf and Ryan dismounted Pidegot and began scanning the area surrounding them.

"Hmm... I don't see the thief anywhere," Leaf said as she looked around. The area next to the cliff was a clearing surrounded by trees. A path, leading to the cliff, cut it's way through the forest. From what Professor Maple had told her before, his excavation team had carefully plowed a manmade path for their trucks to get through during their excavation. She pulled Pidgeot's pokeball and turned to it. "Thanks Pidgeot, take a good rest!" Leaf said as she returned Pidgeot to it's Pokeball and pocketed it in her yellow messenger bag.

Something caught Ryan's eye as he looked at the base of the cliff. There was a dark opening that seemed to lead into the cliff itself. He could hear water dripping, echoing through to the entrance, from where he stood.

"Okay, we're at Mount Coronet, right? But where's the thief and Espeon?" Ryan asked as he stepped slightly into the opening, causing his voice to slightly echo.

"I don't- hmm?" Leaf stopped suddenly as she felt a vibration coming from her messenger bag.

"What's wrong?"

"I think someone's calling me..." Leaf surmised as she pulled her Pokegear out from a pocket in her messenger bag. "It's the Arrowroot Pokemon Center!" Leaf said as she quickly pressed a button to answer the incoming call.

_"Hey, Leaf!" _Professor Maple greeted as he appeared onto the Pokegear's screen, along with Ash, Dawn, and Brock standing around him. Leaf slightly winced as Professor Maple used her name in front of the others. However, she shrugged it off- it was bound to come out eventually, Leaf figured.

_"Oops..." _Professor Maple thought, realizing his folly.

"Professor!" Ryan greeted as he came up next to Leaf and looked at the Pokegear's screen. "Hey guys! You're back!" Ryan said as he noticed the others huddling around Professor Maple.

"We'll have to catch up later," Leaf told him as she turned back to Professor Maple on her Pokegear. "What's up?"

_"As you can see, they've taken care of Team Rocket, for the time being," _Professor Maple said, pointing towards Ash and the others, who waved. _"How are things on your end?"_ Professor Maple asked as he seemed to be looking past Leaf and Ryan, noticing the opening behind them.

"We're next to a cliff at the base of Mount Coronet... Espeon seemed to have left a line of Murkrow and Honchkrow pointing in this direction," Leaf answered as she looked back at the forest. The line of bird pokemon seemed to have wandered off since she last saw them.

_"Mount Coronet?" _Professor Maple asked in surprise.

"Yeah, but we haven't seen Espeon or the thief yet!" Ryan chimed in and added. A brief period of silence followed as Professor Maple closed his eyes and crossed his arms in thought.

_"I wonder where Espeon could be? I'll have to check, hang on for a second," _Professor Maple said as he shifted his complete focus to a mind that was fair distance away.

* * *

The tunnel Espeon was slowly creeping in was a dark and damp place. It had the illusion of being a simple tunnel, but along the middle of the tunnel path, it branched down into a dark abyss- something Espeon and Professor Maple had skipped intentionally the first time he crossed the tunnel path. Somehow, dripping could be heard echoing from that branch in the path... Luckily, that wasn't where the thief was headed, Espeon thought as he smelled the path. A light at the end of the tunnel was slowly growing bigger.

_"The ruins..? Why would this man want to go here? He has Matt's translations already!" _Espeon thought as he emerged from the tunnel. The tunnel had led him to an open grassy area, surrounded by rocky walls. The grass faded the further away one strayed from the tunnel's end, leading to a series of ruined stone bricked flooring, along with remnants of a shrine-like structure. Aged stone pillars began lining up on the side of the stone brick path. The thief was standing next to something at the very end, like he was waiting for something, Espeon hypothesized.

Under the cover of darkness, Espeon began sneaking up towards the thief, avoiding the bits of light from the moon and finding cover behind the stone debris and the tall grass in case the thief happened to look back. Thankfully, there were a few bushes growing somewhat away from where the thief stood that gave Espeon a fair vantage point. As Espeon suspected, the thief stood next to, what looked like, the beginning of a staircase that went underground!

"Espeon... can you hear me?" Espeon suddenly heard. The familiar voice came from inside of his head.

_"Matt! I was just about to call for you... I've followed the thief, and they're back at the ruins site!" _Espeon responded with his thoughts as he continued to monitor the thief.

"Wh-what? The ruins? I'll tell Leaf right away!"

_"Speaking of Leaf, did she find the perching flock of Murkrow and Honchkrow for directions?"_

"Yeah, she's right in front of what looks like the opening to the tunnel leading to the site... I'll let her know where you are, alright?"

"_Sounds good. I hope you and her get here soon, because things might get rough..." _Espeon said through his thoughts as he noticed a uniformed trio emerging from the tunnel. He couldn't hear Professor Maple's voice any longer as the uniformed trio approached the thief and began to speak.

* * *

_"Espeon's at the end of that tunnel behind you guys," _Professor Maple said suddenly after a minute of silence. Ash and the others looked surprised as they tried to figure out how Professor Maple could have found that out._ "He's hiding in that open area, as it looks like the thief's waiting for something or someone... Meet up with Espeon, and I'll make sure I get there as soon as I can!" _Professor Maple added.

"Right!" Leaf and Ryan nodded.

_"Be careful out there! See you soon." _Professor Maple said before hanging up. He disappeared from the Pokegear's screen as 'Call Ended' flashed instead. Leaf placed her Pokegear in her messenger bag while Ryan pulled Eevee and Umbreon's Pokeballs out from his pockets.

"Hmm, I've always wanted to do this... Eevee, Umbreon, come on out, guys!" Ryan enlarged their Pokeballs and held them as they opened up. Eevee and Umbreon materialized from their Pokeballs in front of Ryan.

"Wait, why did you let them out?" Leaf asked as she prepared a flashlight, from her messenger bag, in her hand.

"I-I thought they might be able to help somehow," Ryan answered while realizing there really was no reason to let them out. He just felt like letting them out of their Pokeballs, he thought as he reached down and gently petted both Eevee and Umbreon. They showed their affection back by gently rubbing their heads against his arm. Leaf shrugged as she turned to the dark tunnel that stood in front of them and switched her flashlight on.

"We need to meet up with Espeon as soon as we can, so let's hurry."

The two of them, along with Umbreon and Eevee, disappeared into the tunnel. Unknown to them, a bush rattled behind them as it's occupant emerged and began to quietly pursue them into the tunnel from a safe distance.

A few minutes passed as the group quietly crossed the tunnel. To pass the time, Ryan began asking Leaf a few questions, ranging from what it was like traveling, to Professor Maple's jeep. The dripping sound Ryan heard from earlier rang louder than it did outside, alternating with the muffled sounds of his footsteps. They had passed an alternate route in the tunnel, where the dripping sound seemed to echo from, Ryan noted. Afterwards, the dripping sound began to slowly fade in loudness, being replaced by the occasional sniffing noises coming from Eevee and Umbreon. Looking around, there wasn't much to see, but he noticed something peculiar as he looked at Umbreon walking beside him.

"Hey Leaf, I was wondering... Why are the rings on Umbreon glowing?" Ryan asked as he eyed them.

"Those rings on Umbreon absorb sunlight during the day and release it at night," Leaf explained in a hushed voice. She began to explain a little more, but stopped herself as the end of the tunnel showed itself to them. "I'll explain later. Looks like we're getting close to the thief... keep it down, alright?"

Leaf quickly switched her flashlight off and stowed it away in her messenger bag, leaving them shrouded by the shadows as they approached the end of the tunnel. They stopped before they emerged from it, as they could see a pair of heads, one with long reddish violet hair and the other with short light violet hair, disappearing into the ground.

"Can't tell for sure, but that kinda looked like Team Rocket!" Ryan quietly noted aloud. "I wonder what they're doing here? I'm pretty sure Ash and the others took care of them," he continued his aloud thoughts, picturing Team Rocket blasting off into the sky.

"I don't know for sure yet, but they might be meeting up with the thief for some reason. It's possible they were working together from the start," Leaf speculated as she checked to see if the coast was clear before motioning to follow her.

"H-hold on a sec," Ryan suddenly said, stopping Leaf in her tracks. Umbreon and Eevee were shaking uncontrollably! Everything seemed oblivious to them, as they ignored Ryan waving his hands in front of their field of vision and quietly mumbled something he couldn't understand. "Come on, you guys have to snap out of it!" The commotion stalled them in front of the tunnel, allowing Espeon to suddenly approach them from his hiding spot.

"How are you doing, Espeon? Feeling alright?" Leaf asked Espeon as she felt him rubbing against her leg. She kneeled down and affectionately petted Espeon.

_"Yeah, of course!" _Espeon answered.

"That's good. Matt should be coming here soon," Leaf explained. "Do you think you could help us out here?" She motioned towards the unresponsive Umbreon and Eevee.

_"Does she... understand Espeon?" _Ryan thought while Leaf was talking to Espeon. She had nonchalantly talked with a pokemon, something he wish he could do at the moment. Espeon approached Umbreon and Eevee and began to say something to them.

"_Are you two alright? What's wrong?" _Espeon began. Several moments passed as Umbreon and Eevee continued to mumble to themselves. Espeon started again, several times, but with no luck. However, he managed to decipher what the mumbling was about before withdrawing back to Leaf.

"_Leaf, I couldn't talk to them. Something is seriously wrong... I can hear them mumble, 'Mama' over and over again," _Espeon reported.

"Mama, over and over again?" Leaf said, baffled. Ryan's eyes shot wide open as he knelt down.

"Your mom's here? _Here?_" Ryan asked in astonishment as he turned to Leaf. "They must've smelled something that's close to their mom's scent!" he began to speculate to Leaf as he recalled the sniffing noises in the tunnel.

"If they could smell their mother here of all places, somehow, she must be close by," Leaf said in a hush to Ryan. "I hate to say it, but it sounds suspicious. Why would she be here?"

"I-I have no clue." Ryan began to think of a reason, but couldn't come up with any. "_Maybe she had found out where her kids were, and decided to tail them? But then she could have helped them out of the forest..." _

"Either way, we need to think about this later after we catch that thief," Leaf said. Ryan reluctantly nodded in agreement as he pulled out two Pokeballs.

"I'm sorry..." Ryan muttered to them as he returned Umbreon and Eevee back into their Pokeballs. Leaf had a point. They were in the middle of a pursuit, and the details surrounding the scent of their mom seemed suspicious... "We'll find her, don't worry," Ryan spoke to the Pokeballs before pocketing them.

"Hmm..." Leaf seemed to be momentarily lost in thought as she looked on at the drama that had unfolded. It reminded her of something... personal. Espeon caught her attention. "O-oh. Anyways, Espeon, where did the thief head off to? I don't see him anywhere..."

"_He went down those stairs after discussing something with two other people and oddly enough, a talking Meowth!"_ Espeon recalled.

"A-a talking Meowth?" Leaf questioned.

"Then, that had to have been Team Rocket! I know for sure they have a talking Meowth," Ryan confirmed.

"More importantly, this definitely confirms that they were working with the thief- especially if they came out here to meet him," Leaf added as they approached the beginning of the staircase.

"We need to follow them and see what they're up to," Ryan suggested.

"I don't know... things aren't adding up here. That staircase leads to a chamber of hieroglyphs that Matt managed to partly translate. Apparently, Matt left the cipher to finish it on the translation, along with all of the untranslated text, so why is the thief here?" Leaf began to say.

"Which is exactly why we need to check it out, right?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, but the chamber's only entrance and exit would be this staircase, as far as I know," Leaf answered as she debated the option. "But, if there's a chance they could escape... I guess we'd better check it out. Espeon, could you stay here and wait for Matt to get here?"

"_Of course. I'll be sure to fill him in on the situation when he gets here, along with the mother issue. I don't know about you, but I can't shake the feeling that it's somehow related to the thief being here..." _Espeon replied as Leaf nodded.

"_Neither can I..."_ Leaf thought as she pulled the flashlight out from her messenger bag once more and shone it down the dreary staircase. "Let's go," Leaf said to Ryan as they began their descent down the staircase.

* * *

"_I see..."_

A small figure had escaped Espeon's notice, hiding behind the same debris Espeon had used earlier. He overheard every detail of what occurred. Crossing his arms, he came to a single conclusion that answered nearly every question Leaf and Ryan had raised. _He _was here, no doubt about it, along with their mother. Now the question on his mind was... why?


	17. Back to the Basics! Part 10

The group of Team Rocket and the thief descended an ancient flight of stairs as darkness threatened to cloak their vision. A torch, that the thief had taken the liberty of lighting, prevented it from doing so. Their own footsteps echoed throughout the passageway, filling the silent void as the group ventured deeper underground. They passed through an archway opening that seemed to swallow the group in pitch black. Something felt different, the thief thought as he suddenly stopped.

"Hey, watch it!" Meowth exclaimed as he bumped into the thief. Jessie and James followed suit.

"What's the big idea?" Jessie asked. Team Rocket's exclamations fell on deaf ears as the thief suddenly strode off. Before Team Rocket could complain about the sudden loss of light, many torches suddenly lit up! The thief had used his torch to light an unlit stick, which caused a chain reaction. Team Rocket readjusted to their newly lit surroundings. The light revealed an unfathomable amount of ancient pictures and text carved into all sides of the room.

While Team Rocket looked in awe in their surroundings, the thief slowly strode towards the opposite end of the room. A set of hieroglyphs stood out from the others on the surrounding walls. He gave a slight chilling smirk as he realized... this was it.

Without a second thought, the thief came up to the wall and felt it with his gloved hand. Dust grabbed onto his glove, showing slight indentations covered in dust. He began dusting away, while Team Rocket stood waiting. A few wordless moments later, they shrugged their shoulders and decided to leave the thief to his own devices.

"Hey, let's take a look around this joint!" Meowth suggested to his cohorts, who agreed. Team Rocket wandered off to another side of the huge room, looking at the walls' ancient depictions. Centuries of stone, dust and culture stared down upon them.

"What do all of these mean?" James asked with childish curiosity.

"Who knows? It's probably mumbo jumbo..." Jessie shrugged as she tried reading the ancient text.

_"You are sadly mistaken," _the thief thought as he heard Jessie's ignorant remark. He shook it off as he began scanning the giant depiction in front of him. Peering up, he saw the depiction of an ancient creature. The god of pokemon, he mumbled as a slight smirk emerged on his face. Through the crumbling dust on the wall, an image of a person defined it's way through.

"What is this...?" The thief mumbled as he began to examine a group of vague figures to the left of the person. The three figures had animal shapes to them. One had a shell-like object behind it while the identical two next to it had a cat-like appearance. The cat-like animals were depicted standing, with a miniature shape of the sun and moon hovering above them.

_"This may be important. I won't have time to decipher this here, with the possibility of Maple coming after me," _the thief thought as he pulled out his trusty camera and started snapping picture after picture. Every little detail was captured in his camera, from every possible angle. Team Rocket looked back at the thief as the camera flashes went off.

"Talk about takin' in the sights," Meowth commented as he and the others shrugged. Unknown to them, a pair of heads peered into the room, sharing their same curiosity.

"Why's he taking pictures?" Ryan quietly thought aloud as he peered into the ancient room. He and Leaf stood behind the archway leading into the room. The two of them had ducked for cover the moment the thief illuminated the room.

"No clue, but first things first. We need to get Matt's translations back!" Leaf said as she carefully peered into the ancient room from behind the archway's cover. The light from the room's torches revealed railings on an elevated level. There was a second floor! If so, there had to be a way up there, she reasoned.

"I think I've got a plan," Leaf began saying as she skimmed the room for a way up to the second floor. Ryan looked a little skeptical as he leaned back and accidentally bumped into something. Leaf looked at him as he gave a slight gasp of surprise and noticed what had startled him- it was a ladder! She quickly examined it.

"It looks like this leads up to the second floor of that room," Leaf started to quietly explain as she determined the ladder was safe to climb, even though it's appearance said otherwise.

"I want you to sneak out there and wait for my signal," Leaf said as she pointed at the archway. Before Ryan could say a word, she continued, "I'll climb up here and take a look around." Leaf's words faded as she climbed the ladder leading to the second floor and disappeared from sight.

Ryan shook his shoulders as he looked into the chamber. Things could quickly get ugly, he thought as he noticed Team Rocket looking around the chamber walls. How could he sneak past them without being seen? There were pillars holding the second floor up, along with various piles of fallen rock and dirt. Ryan quickly crept into the cover of the nearest pile. As he knelt down, he couldn't help but overhear Team Rocket's conversation.

"You know, now that I think about it... I wonder why that treasure hunter needs our help? We're just walking around," James pondered.

"Who cares? He agreed to split the treasure as long as we help," Jessie said, shrugging the point aside. "Besides, if we get Pikachu as a side bonus, we shouldn't complain."

_"They're in it for Pikachu? Figures..." _Ryan thought as he felt their voices start to echo. He snuck a look at Team Rocket, who were walking towards the archway entrance. With the coast somewhat clear, he started to haphazardly tiptoe across the chamber, using the various debris piles as cover. Along the way, his eyes couldn't help but wander around the chamber. He saw the railings of the second floor, but where had Leaf gone?

_"Where is she? She said she'd give me a signal, or something like that..." _Ryan scanned the top floor carefully. He was close to the thief- which meant he had to be completely silent, or risk detection. Light from the torches crept up past the second floor's railings, piercing halfway through the shadows above. Ryan could've sworn he saw a figure swiftly move...

_"There's Leaf!" _Ryan thought as he noticed her figure outlined by faint torch light. She motioned a finger towards the thief standing at the end of the chamber. It was time to move! However, as Ryan began to abandon his cover, he stopped as he felt a strange wiggling sensation coming from his jacket pocket. _Pop!_

Before he could even blink, Ryan saw Eevee and Umbreon appear in front of him. The two pokemon seemed oblivious to Ryan's presence as they sniffed the air. He could've sworn he heard a low growl. Something felt off, Ryan began to think before his suspicions were confirmed. Without warning, the two pokemon leapt at the thief!

For a split second, the thief looked surprised as he turned to face the growls. His surprise faded as he quickly threw out a Pokeball and ordered, "Protect!" A huge purple dinosaur-like pokemon appeared with it's two arms up, quickly producing a green barrier, which caused Umbreon and Eevee to bounce back.

"Nidoking!" Ryan realized aloud as he looked at the menacing pokemon. However, as menacing as Nidoking looked, he looked at Umbreon and Eevee, who were ferociously pounding away at the Protect barrier, only to get knocked back. They looked just as menacing, if not, worse. Something wasn't right, Ryan thought as he tried calling out to them to calm down. It was no use, as they ignored his words and kept charging the barrier.

_"Why are they so... angry?" _Ryan thought as he helplessly watched the one sided onslaught. The thief watched silently, but in amusement. Without a word, he nodded as Nidoking dropped Protect, grabbed the two pokemon and threw them against the wall! "No!" Ryan yelled as he ran over to their side.

"Hey, it's dat twerp!" Ryan heard from far behind him. He turned back to look. Team Rocket was running towards him! _"As if things couldn't get any worse,"_ Ryan dryly thought as his heart started to race. How were they going to get out of this mess? The pokemon were acting like wild dogs, pouncing like there was no tomorrow, and he was surrounded. The translations would have to wait, unless...

_"I gotta buy some time, but how?" _Ryan's thought was interrupted as he struggled to subdue Umbreon and Eevee, who were trying to wriggle free to continue their onslaught against the thief. _"If I let these guys go, Nidoking's gonna hurt them even more... What the heck's making them so mad?" _Something clicked. Team Rocket was a few feet behind him now, but that wasn't what was occurring in his mind. Ryan stared at the thief as he felt like his gut was yelling at him.

"It was you." Team Rocket stopped in their tracks, slightly confused at what Ryan muttered. Suddenly, his voice rose as he proclaimed, "You took their mom away!"

The ancient room echoed Ryan's words, as the occupants absorbed the new piece of information. Jessie and James looked at each other in similar confusion, while Meowth began scowling. "Dat's the Pokemon Hunter?" Meowth redundantly said aloud as the realization hit him.

"How dare you lie to Team Rocket?" Jessie declared to the Pokemon Hunter. James nodded in rueful agreement as he recalled his encounters with Pokemon Hunters in the past.

The exposed Pokemon Hunter simply stood beside his Nidoking. His expression was unreadable, as he seemed unfazed by his blown cover. After all, he got what he came for, Team Rocket had lived up to their usefulness, and now... it was time to clean up this mess. The ground shook as Nidoking began charging up an attack, expecting it's master to give the final word.

"I'll take that!"

The unfolding drama gave Leaf a chance to jump down, yank the translation from the surprised Pokemon Hunter and as a bonus, broke Nidoking's concentrated attack! As Ryan jumped from the surprise, he accidentally let Eevee and Umbreon loose from his grasp. They charged the Pokemon Hunter like wild animals!

"Come on, we gotta move!" Leaf called to Ryan as she began sprinting past him and Team Rocket, who stood still, watching everything unfold. As soon as she reached the archway entrance, Leaf looked back, only to find Ryan had stood in the same place and was shaking his head.

"No, get that thing back to Professor Maple! We can't let the Pokemon Hunter get the translation back, and I gotta get Umbreon and Eevee back!" Ryan said as he turned back and rushed into the fray.

"Don't do it!" Leaf yelled her warning to deaf ears. "This place is going to collapse... Dang it!" There wasn't any time to spare as she began ascending the stairs as fast as she could. The only ears the warning reached were two pairs of human ears and a pokemon's.

"Did she say... collapse?" Meowth said as James and Jessie nodded. "We don't have enough life insurance for dis! Let's get outta here!" Team Rocket shared a mutual agreement and high tailed it out of the chamber as it began to slightly shake.

_"Shadow Ball!"_ Umbreon had formed a Shadow Ball and fired it at Nidoking, who stood in front of the Pokemon Hunter. Nidoking merely breathed the Shadow Ball attack off as it swatted the ball aside, causing it to collide with a structural pillar in the room. The pillar crumbled as dust and smoke started flying through the air! Ryan gritted his teeth and held his arms up to cover his face as the dust and smoke pounded his face.

_"I gotta return these guys to their Pokeballs! It's the only way we're getting out of this in one piece!"_ Ryan thought as he enlarged Eevee's and Umbreon's Pokeballs. The dust clouded his vision as he tried looking for even a faint sign of Eevee and Umbreon. He caught sight of Eevee and Umbreon's silhouettes clawing away at a larger silhouette that belonged to Nidoking.

"Come on guys, ret-" Ryan couldn't finish his sentence as Nidoking kicked Eevee and Umbreon off it's legs, launching them at Ryan! Their bodies collided, striking Ryan's chest and sending him sliding back. Umbreon and Eevee's Pokeballs rolled out from Ryan's grip as he laid with his back on the ground.

As the ground rumbled from Nidoking's footsteps, Ryan slowly raised himself up. As the dust subsided, there were suddenly three, no- five Nidokings! But then... everything started spinning. Ryan's head started to slightly bobble side to side as he tried catching the air that was knocked out from his lungs. As the five Nidokings approached, Ryan stumbled to his feet as he tried to grab Eevee and Umbreon, who both multiplied! He fell back down to the ground as the dizziness overpowered him. Ryan took a deep breath in and out. The five Nidokings became one... huge figure as it approached.

_"Can't... catch my breath. This cloud of dust isn't helping," _Ryan thought as he coughed, desperate for even a breath of clean air. He raised his head to look forward. Nidoking had picked up Umbreon and Eevee! Regardless of their struggling while holding them in each hand, Nidoking looked back to the Pokemon Hunter, waiting for a command. He simply nodded. _"N-no!" _There was nothing Ryan could do. Leaf had already gone, and help wouldn't arrive until it was too late...

The dust suddenly started spinning as a furiously spinning orange shell flew into the chamber and slammed into Nidoking, knocking Eevee and Umbreon free! As they fell to the ground, something popped out from the shell- Squirtle!

"S-Squirtle!" Ryan exclaimed before taking a few deep breaths. He never appreciated air more in his life than in those few breaths. With some regained strength, he stumbled to his feet and as quick as he could, went over to where Eevee and Umbreon were struggling to get up.

"Guys... stay down." Ryan reached for the fallen Pokeballs as he blocked the path in front of Eevee and Umbreon. They shook their heads as they barely got to their feet, still itching for a shot at Nidoking and the Pokemon Hunter. Ryan decided, for their own good, he had to return them to their Pokeballs. He shot the return beams at the pokemon, who kept dodging every single beam.

_"STOP." _

The sudden exclamation caught Eevee, Umbreon, and Ryan by surprise, as Squirtle suddenly turned around and glared at Eevee and Umbreon.

_"Go into your Pokeballs. Neither of you are in shape to keep fighting." _Squirtle was nearly interrupted by the both of them before he added in a harsh tone,_"the both of you nearly got yourselves and him killed." _

Whatever Squirtle said, it got them under control, Ryan reasoned as Eevee and Umbreon both drooped, waiting to be returned to their Pokeballs. As he quickly returned them to their Pokeballs, he could have sworn he saw Eevee shed a tear. Pocketing Eevee and Umbreon's Pokeballs, Ryan turned back to the Pokemon Hunter, who was idly watching the whole scene. Squirtle stood next to Ryan.

"We have to get out of here, Squirtle. But I have a feeling this guy's not gonna let us walk that easily... We're gonna need to work together." Squirtle nodded as he got into a battle ready stance. Ryan was surprised- did Squirtle just agree to work together? After all of those times he ignored him? Without a second thought, Ryan pulled his Pokedex out.

_"I'd better see what attacks Squirtle can do," _Ryan thought as the Pokedex determined what attack Squirtle could perform.

SQUIRTLE'S ATTACKS ARE: HEADBUTT, WATER GUN, RAPID SPIN, AND WITHDRAW.

"Sorry, I just wanted to know what attacks you knew," Ryan countered to a look Squirtle gave him. Squirtle shrugged, to Ryan's surprise. Was Squirtle giving him the green light to command him?

"So... you want to fight your own master," the Pokemon Hunter said as an unnatural grin crept onto his face. Ryan took a double take as he bounced between looking at Squirtle and the Pokemon Hunter.

_"_**_He _**_was Squirtle's trainer!" _No sooner than it hit him, Squirtle nodded and suddenly charged towards Nidoking and the Pokemon Hunter. Ryan's grip on the Pokedex tightened. It was do or die time, he thought as he decided to follow Squirtle on his forward charge.

_"I hope we make it out in one piece..."_


	18. Back to the Basics! Part 11

**I figured you guys wouldn't like waiting for two chapters and since I finished this one today... I figured, posting time. :)**

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* * *

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"Here we are, the ruins..." Professor Maple thought as he walked through the cave passageway. He was leading the group of Ash, Dawn, Brock, and Emily.

"Wow, these are the ruins?" Dawn asked as the group emerged from the cave way. "They look really old!"

"Yeah, they're pretty old... but I'll save the history lesson for later. We gotta find Leaf and Ryan, wherever they are." Professor Maple said.

"Hey, what's that shaking?" Ash said as he felt a small tremor shaking the ground.

"An earthquake?" Brock asked Professor Maple.

"It couldn't be, the last earthquake recorded in Sinnoh was back in the ancient times." Professor Maple explained.

"And Sinnoh's a continent nowhere near any others, so tectonic plate rupture is out of the question..." He continued.

"Matt, don't go smart professor on us... hey!" Emily stopped as she noticed a figure emerging from the ground. "Look! It's Leaf!" She pointed at Leaf, who saw the group.

"Hey! You guys made it!" Leaf said as she and the group ran up to each other.

"You know it," Professor Maple looked behind Leaf. "By the way, where's Ryan?"

"Here," Leaf gave the rolled up translations to Professor Maple, turned around and ran back towards the stairs leading underground.

"Wait Leaf!" Professor Maple stretched his hand out, calling out. "Where're you going?"

"I'm going back to help Ryan!" Leaf yelled back as she seemed to shove something out of her way.

"Hey, watch it, twerpette!" A familiar voice angrily said.

"Yeah, you don't see us pushin' and shovin'! And we're the bad guys!" Another voice called out.

"She's gone!" Another voice pointed out. The three owners of the voices emerged from the stairs.

"It's Team Rocket!" Ash recognized as the trio of thieves looked over.

"It's the other twerps!" James pointed out.

"Where one twerp goes, they all go." Jessie commented.

"Looks like we gotta get past 'em!" Ash said as he, Dawn, Brock and Professor Maple reached for their Pokeballs, getting ready to battle.

"Come on out Espeon!" Professor Maple called out as he threw Espeon's Pokeball. Espeon materialized in front of Professor Maple and faced Team Rocket.

"Wait a sec twerps- We don't wanna battle!" Meowth said as he waved his arms back and forth.

"Huh? You don't?" Professor Maple asked as the group lowered their guard slightly.

"It could be a trick Matt!" Emily warned Professor Maple.

"N-no! Honest! On Team Rocket honor!" James said.

"What honor?" Dawn commented.

"Don't push your luck, twerpette!" Jessie responded.

"If they're telling the truth, I'm following Leaf!" Professor Maple threw the rolled up translation to Brock.

"Get this back to my Jeep, would ya'? Professor Maple asked.

"Sure thing." Brock said as he caught the rolled up translation in his hands and tucked it underneath his arms.

"Espeon, come on!" Professor Maple called out to Espeon as he ran towards the staircase leading underground.

"_Right!" _Espeon nodded as he followed his trainer underground. They both disappeared from Ash and the other's sight.

* * *

"Nidoking, use Rock Throw!" The Pokemon Hunter commanded. Nidoking grabbed a solid piece of rubble at least a few feet tall and wide and lifted it over it's head.

"Squirtle, we gotta dodge it!" Ryan warned as he ran along side Squirtle.

"_Right!"_ Squirtle nodded.

"I've got an idea- go left! I'll go right!" Ryan suggested.

"_What would that do?" _Squirtle asked. Even though Ryan still couldn't understand what Squirtle was saying, the look on Squirtle's face was clear enough.

"He can't throw that rock at the both of us- I'll distract them while you attack from your side!" Ryan explained.

"_But-" _Squirtle was about to reject when Ryan interrupted.

"Now!" Ryan ran to the right as Squirtle noticed Nidoking was about to throw the piece of rubble.

"Hey, over here!" Ryan stuck his tongue out at Nidoking as he ran.

"_You dare mock me, boy?"_ Nidoking growled. _"Rock Throw!" _Nidoking threw the rubble towards Ryan.

"Ha-ha, can't hit me!" Ryan suddenly stopped and ran in the opposite direction, making sure there was no chance of the rubble hitting him.

"_Looks like they fell for it!"_ Ryan thought. He turned to Squirtle, who ran the direction Ryan suggested earlier. Squirtle was closer to the Pokemon Hunter and Nidoking!

"_At that range, Nidoking's gonna get knocked out, especially since it's a Ground type! Good thing Carter always used one back in the day..." _Ryan refocused on Squirtle.

"Okay Squirtle, use Water Gun!" Ryan pointed at Nidoking. Squirtle's mouth filled up and he quickly pointed at Nidoking.

"_Water Gun!" _Squirtle fired a pressured stream of water from his mouth which flew like a steady stream of bullets towards Nidoking.

"_Ugh!"_ Nidoking turned it's head and realized Water Gun was coming at it. The Pokemon Hunter smirked.

"Still as weak as ever- Nidoking, Protect!" The Pokemon Hunter called out.

"What? Protect?" Ryan thought aloud and was interrupted by a sudden green barrier emerging around Nidoking and the Pokemon Hunter.

"_What the heck?" _Ryan thought. _"That attack should've hit and it should've been super effective, too!" _He looked at Squirtle, who was now close to the Pokemon Hunter and Nidoking.

"_No! Squirtle's vulnerable!" _Ryan realized as Squirtle stopped running and looked at Ryan.

"_What now?"_ Squirtle asked.

"Squirtle use Water Gun before-" Ryan called out.

"Ah, Nidoking, take care of that." The Pokemon Hunter said casually.

Nidoking ran up to Squirtle and swung it's tail like a baseball bat which hit Squirtle, sending him flying back, hitting a debris wall.

"Squirtle!" Ryan called out. His attention turned to the Nidoking now approaching him.

"_I gotta help Squirtle out, but how? Nidoking's enormous! If I get hit once, there'll be more than broken bones..." _Ryan thought. He turned his attention between the Pokemon Hunter standing in one spot, almost casually watching his Nidoking do his dirty work, and Squirtle.

"_First thing's first, Squirtle's gonna need my help!" _Ryan started running towards Squirtle, who was slowly getting up. Squirtle looked up and at Ryan.

"_What's he... No! Get away!" _Squirtle started shouting.

"_What's Squirtle saying?"_ Ryan wondered as he approached him.

"You done, Nidoking?" The Pokemon Hunter suddenly asked. Nidoking nodded.

"_What's he talking about?"_ Ryan turned his attention to the Pokemon Hunter and Nidoking. Ryan's heart started beating harder and faster. An orb of energy sat in Nidoking's mouth- it was a fully charged Hyper Beam!

"_There's no way he'll get out of the way in time!" _Squirtle thought as he got up, clutching his arm.

"_If I get out of the way, the Hyper Beam will destroy the structural soundness, trapping us here, at the least... I don't want to think about the worst..." _Ryan tried coming up with a plan, but nothing came to mind. Staying there and taking on the Hyper Beam was definitely not an option, but leaping out of the way wasn't one either!

"_Between a rock and a hard place wouldn't even begin to describe this..." _Ryan thought as he paused from running.

"_I gotta help Ryan!" _Squirtle thought in desperation. The tiny turtle started to run towards Ryan, but stumbled and fell forward, landing on his stomach.

"This is what happens to traitors and their friends!" The Pokemon Hunter called out to Squirtle. "Because of you, this boy will be destroyed!"

"Hyper Beam!" The Pokemon Hunter commanded. Nidoking launched the fully charged beam roaring at Ryan.

"Frenzy Plant!" A female voice called out. Something materialized in front of Ryan- a large plant-like creature with a large pinkish purplish flower on it's back.

"A Venusaur?" Ryan recognized the pokemon instantly. He then turned around to see where it came from.

"Leaf!" Ryan said. The Hyper Beam was closing in. Venusaur commanded various thick vines that emerged from the ground, which formed a shield in front of it and Ryan. The attacks collided, sending dust scattering everywhere. When the dust cleared, the vines shrunk back into the ground, after a job well done with absorbing the blast.

"You came back!" Ryan said as he turned to face Leaf.

"Of course! From the looks of things, it's a good thing I did." Leaf commented as she noticed Squirtle clutching his arm.

"Venusaur, can you use Vine Whip to bring Squirtle over here?" Leaf asked Venusaur.

_"Of course,"_ Venusaur nodded as it extended it's two vines over to Squirtle and wrapped around him. The vines gently lifted Squirtle into the air, over to where Venusaur was and let Squirtle down onto the ground.

_"Thanks."_ Squirtle thanked Venusaur, who nodded in reply.

"Squirtle!" Ryan approached Squirtle and knelt down. "How bad are you hurt?" Ryan asked as he noticed Squirtle holding his arm.

_"Not too bad."_ Squirtle shook his head, but twitched in pain as his arm begged to differ.

"Squirtle, sorry I wasn't much help at all..." Ryan apologized.

"Hey, Ryan, save it for later- we're still in the middle of something here..." Leaf said, getting Ryan's and Squirtle's attention.

"I guess you're right..." Ryan admitted as he got to his feet.

"We've been attacking him left and right for the past few minutes... nothing seems to work!" Ryan said to Leaf.

"Let me take care of him." Leaf said after looking at the Pokemon Hunter and his Nidoking, who was panting.

"Ryan, stand back, alright?" Leaf asked.

"_No way! I'm not letting someone else fight for me!" _Squirtle objected.

"You're in barely any condition to move, let alone battle." Leaf stated. Ryan decided to step in.

"She's right, we'd only hurt the cause and slow her down..." He added. Squirtle huffed and turned to glare at the Pokemon Hunter.

"_...Fine." _Squirtle reluctantly agreed.

"Good. Now, you guys, get back." Leaf finished and started to walk up alongside with Venusaur.

"_It's her..." _The Pokemon Hunter thought as Nidoking looked back at him, knowing what his master was thinking.

"_It's the girl... isn't it?" _Nidoking asked through it's huffs and pants. A slight nod, unnoticed to all but Nidoking, answered it's question.

"_What do we do? We promised..." _Nidoking was cut off by it's master.

"So, you think you have what it takes to even match our power?" The Pokemon Hunter proclaimed.

"As one of my close family friends once said, I don't think, I know!" Leaf answered. Venusaur gave an agreeing cry.

"_Leaf seems to have a bit of her old fire back..."_ Venusaur noticed._ "I wonder what sparked it?"_

"Whoever said that must have been quite the ambitious man..." The Pokemon Hunter commented with a more intriguing motion.

"He wasn't ambitious, he was my dad's..." Leaf cut her self off and seemed to lose herself a bit.

_"Leaf..." _Venusaur looked upon it's trainer, knowing it couldn't do much to help her with what bothered her.

"Hmph, very well. Nidoking, let's take care of this girl." The Pokemon Hunter said.

"_Right."_ Nidoking seemed to be taken a bit off guard.

"_Is master really going to go against the promise?"_ Nidoking thought.


	19. Back to the Basics! Part 12

"_Her dad's... what?" _Ryan thought. He stuffed the thought for later as he turned his attention to the approaching battle in front of him.

"Nidoking, charge in with Brick Break!" The Pokemon Hunter commanded. Nidoking responded with a nod and started to run towards Leaf and Venusaur.

"Venusaur," Leaf got on Venusaur's back, where it's giant flower bloomed. "Use Wine Whip on the ground!"

"_Got it!" _Venusaur quickly launched it's vines and slammed them into the ground, propelling Venusaur and Leaf into the air, but low enough to the point where they didn't hit the ceiling of the open second floor.

"Use Energy Ball!" Leaf pointed at a spot ahead of Nidoking. A spiraling orb of green energy formed in front of Venusaur's mouth.

"_Energy Ball!" _Venusaur launched it's Energy Ball, blasting downwards towards where Nidoking was running to.

"Nidoking, use Protect!" The Pokemon Hunter commanded. Nidoking launched the green barrier around itself once more as Venusaur's Energy Ball closed in.

"Okay Venusaur, return!" Leaf pulled out Venusaur's Pokeball.

"W-what?" Ryan was taken aback. "Are you crazy?" Ryan thought aloud. He saw Venusaur nod as it returned to it's Pokeball, leaving Leaf in midair, who was about to plummet.

"I know she's a champion and all, but this is borderline insane!" Ryan thought aloud.

"_Yeah."_ Squirtle nodded.

"Let's go, Pidgeot!" Leaf pocketed Venusaur's Pokeball, pulled out Pidgeot's Pokeball and threw it downward as she began to fall. Pidgeot materialized below her, and Leaf landed on Pidgeot's back. Operating on instinct, Pidgeot began to fly towards Nidoking with speed as Venusaur's Energy Ball collided with Nidoking's Protect.

"Nidoking, use Brick Break!" The Pokemon Hunter commanded. Nidoking raised it's arm to strike the incoming Pidgeot.

"Pidgeot, spin over to the right!" Leaf told Pidgeot.

"_Gotcha!" _Pidgeot tucked it's wings as it rolled to the right, spinning. Pidgeot, with Leaf holding on, spun past Nidoking's Brick Break attack! Pidgeot stopped it's spinning, stabilized itself and raised it's altitude.

"Use Aerial Ace!" Leaf commanded Pidgeot, who started to gain speed once more, towards Nidoking.

"Again? Fine then- Nidoking, stop her with Protect." The Pokemon Hunter called out. Nidoking prepared to release a green barrier like before.

"Quick Pidgeot, use Mirror Move before Nidoking puts Protect up!" Leaf commanded. Protect was in place around Nidoking.

"_She's too late!" _Ryan thought. _"What was the Mirror Move for? If I remember correctly, it copies the last move made by the opponent... and it was Protect, right?"_

"Looks like your Mirror Move failed! And you are still charging with Aerial Ace!" The Pokemon Hunter said to Leaf as she and Pidgeot kept flying towards Nidoking and it's Protect barrier.

"Another charging Protect wouldn't penetrate Protect! No attack can get past it!" The Pokemon Hunter proclaimed.

"What? Then what's Leaf doing?" Ryan thought aloud, with Squirtle listening.

"_That girl's still charging... that must mean she knows how to break it down!" _Squirtle thought.

"W-what the-" The Pokemon Hunter stumbled as he witnessed something he didn't expect. Pidgeot had broken through Protect like it was nothing,shattered it and slammed into Nidoking!

"How did you- of course..." Nidoking flew backwards towards the Pokemon Hunter and landed on it's back. The Pokemon Hunter understood what happened, clearly now. Pidgeot landed back on the ground and Leaf disembarked.

"I didn't use Mirror Move on Protect..." Leaf straightened her white fisherman's hat. "I used it on Brick Break."

"Huh? Oh yeah! Brick Break was the last move used, before Protect was put up!" Ryan realized aloud. "But how'd Brick Break broke down Protect?" Ryan wondered aloud. "I thought Protect was practically invincible!" A sharp ding noise suddenly emerged, which came from Ryan's pocket.

"_That's the Pokedex!"_ Ryan thought as he pulled out the Pokedex and opened it.

**Protect is a move that can ward off all attacks except for Brick Break. Also, if Protect is used side by side, it will fail on it's own.**

"So that's why..." Ryan thought aloud. He looked between Leaf and Pidgeot, who seemed cool and collected in the middle of battle and to the Pokemon Hunter and his Nidoking, who was struggling to get up.

"_Man... all of these new moves are starting to give me a headache. Wish it was as simple as it was all the way back when.." _Ryan thought as he closed the Pokedex and pocketed it.

"_That hunter's calm for some reason... but why? Leaf's beating the snot out of him!" _Ryan thought as he looked at the Pokemon Hunter.

"Squirtle, I think we'd better watch out- something's up..." Ryan warned Squirtle.

"_You took the words right out of my mouth." _Squirtle nodded, even though Ryan wouldn't understand.

"_How can they stay so calm in the heat of battle like that?"_ Ryan noted. _"I couldn't think or react quickly at all. I mean, what's different between this and football? Besides the fact I could get a Hyper Beam to the face..." _

"Ryan!"

"Huh?" Ryan turned around to see where the voice came from.

"Professor Maple!" Leaf turned her head to see her cousin walk in, and turned her attention back to the battle.

"Where's Leaf?" Professor Maple asked Ryan, who pointed behind him.

"She jumped in when I was about to take a Hyper Beam..." Ryan explained.

"She's battling?" Professor Maple seemed a bit astonished.

"Yeah, and she's good- scratch that, amazing." Ryan added.

"Tell me about it- she hasn't battled in nearly a couple of months." Professor Maple told him as he watched Leaf.

"But anyways, we need to get out of here- battling here any further is gonna cause this place to collapse, along with all of the ancient hieroglyphs with it!" Professor Maple said.

"How're we gonna do that?" Ryan asked.

"_Leave that to us!" _Espeon jumped in.

"What Espeon said." Professor Maple added.

"Uh... what did Espeon say?" Ryan asked. Before Professor Maple could answer, a sudden chill filled the air.

"Why'd it get so cold all of a sudden?" Ryan wondered. He and Professor Maple turned back to the battle scene.

"Where'd Nidoking go?" Ryan looked around. No sign of Nidoking, meaning the Pokemon Hunter must have returned it to it's Pokeball.

"You have forced me to use my trump card." The Pokemon Hunter said through the fog that now enveloped the room.

"This is getting a bit creepy..." Ryan said as he saw his breath in front of him. "What's causing all of this, professor?"

"I don't know," Professor Maple turned to Espeon. "Espeon, can you see what's causing all of this?"

"_Give me a moment." _Espeon closed his eyes.

"Where's Leaf? I can barely see through this pea soup..." Ryan thought as he looked out into the mist. He barely made out a figure he faintly recognized as Leaf and Pidgeot.

"There they are- What the-" Ryan noticed something behind Leaf and Pidgeot.

"Leaf! Get out of the way!" Ryan leapt into the fog, shouting his warning.

"_Wait!" _Squirtle limped after Ryan, into the fog.

"_There's another pokemon out there! It's a..." _Espeon reported, but was cut off by Ryan's sudden shouting.

"Yeah, I got the picture when Ryan ran into the fog like that." Professor Maple commented.

"Leaf! Look out!" Ryan shouted as loud as he could. Leaf and Pidgeot turned to see a faint figure running towards them.

"Is that... Ryan?" She wondered. "Look out?" Leaf turned around quickly- a blue four-legged pokemon with bangs sat there, staring at them.

"It's a... Glaceon!" Leaf realized.

"Now, Glaceon, Icy Wind!" The Pokemon Hunter commanded through the fog. Glaceon seemed to hesitate for a bit, but started to shift the air around it. Particles around Glaceon froze as Glaceon prepared to use Icy Wind.

"_Oh man! Pidgeot's weak against Ice- at least I hope that's an Ice type move... who am I kidding? Oh, Icy Wind's a fire type move...Ha-ha."_ Ryan refocused on the situation.

"_Squirtle's barely able to walk, and he's back over there... I need Umbreon! I hope he's ready..." _Ryan pulled out Umbreon's Pokeball and enlarged it.

"Umbreon, I need you! Use Shadow Ball to stop that Icy Wind, quick!" Ryan threw Umbreon's Pokeball over Leaf's head and it landed in front of them, letting Umbreon materialize there. Glaceon shifted a concentration of Icy Wind to launch at Leaf.

"_Ryan needs me?" _Umbreon said as he popped out from his Pokeball. A lost look still enveloped Umbreon's face, which was noticed by Leaf.

"Umbreon, look out!" Leaf warned. "Icy Wind's coming-" The concentrated Icy Wind shot straight towards them. "Use Shadow Ball like Ryan said!" Instinct intervened Umbreon's attitude as he suddenly formed a Shadow Ball to counter the threatening Icy Wind. The Icy Wind collided with Shadow Ball and disappeared, leaving Shadow Ball flying towards Glaceon, who dodged it.

"Alright! Good job, Umbreon!" Ryan complimented as he came up to Leaf, Pidgeot and Umbreon. He went over and picked Umbreon's Pokeball up and pocketed it.

"Close call, huh?" Ryan asked.

"Why'd you rush out like that?" Leaf asked with her arms at her waist.

"What do you mean? I saved you!" Ryan said.

"I had it totally under control! Pidgeot had Protect from Mirror Move!" Leaf explained.

"But the hunter recalled Nidoking! Wouldn't Mirror Move not work?" Ryan asked.

"Hey you two! Save it for later!" A voice yelled through the fog.

"Huh? That was Matt..." Leaf noted. "He's right though. We'll save this for later." She continued.

"Looks like Umbreon's ready to battle!" Ryan thought aloud as he looked at Umbreon, who faced Glaceon.

"_What's with this sudden change? Are Pokeballs that magical?" _Ryan joked in his head.

"_The hunter's still here... but where?" _Umbreon's nose twitched. _"Her scent..." _Umbreon looked around to find the source of the scent.

"_It couldn't be coming from that Glaceon, so where's mom?" _Umbreon wondered.

"Umbreon, we gotta get out of this jam, and we'll look for your mom!" Ryan said to Umbreon, knowing what was on his mind. Umbreon looked back with a hint of guilt on his face.

"Hey, forget about earlier! We all make mistakes, we're all human- disregard that last word." Ryan rubbed the back of his head with bashfulness at his mistake.

"Point is, it's fine- I understand why you did what you did, and truth be told, I would've done the same." Ryan continued. "So, let's work together towards the future, alright? We're gonna get your mom back, no mistake about it!" Ryan gave a thumbs up.

"_This human, there's no mistaking it, he has a big heart." _Pidgeot noted in it's head.

"_Ryan, what a speech. Maybe there's more to you than a novice... but you're still a novice." _Leaf thought and chuckled in her head. Umbreon looked at Ryan with wonder; wasn't he supposed to be mad that he was nearly killed- because of him and his sister?

"_...Right!" _Umbreon nodded and then faced Glaceon.

"_I'm glad Taylor taught me how to pep talk... this kind of feels like a soap opera at the moment. What am I thinking? I gotta focus- Umbreon's gonna need me!" _Ryan thought.

"Hey Leaf, why don't you let me take care of this one?" Ryan asked. "Besides, isn't Pidgeot weak against Ice type moves?" Ryan noted. Leaf seemed to be lost in a train of thought before she answered.

"Heh, fine by me..." Leaf said with a smirk. "Check your Pokedex for information you're gonna need on Glaceon."

"Right." Ryan was about to pull out his Pokedex, when he felt a small tug on his pants.

"Squirtle! You followed me?" Ryan redundantly asked. "Never mind that, you shouldn't have... you're still hurt. Here," Ryan knelt down and gently picked Squirtle up and held him like a baby in one arm.

"Leaf, can you keep Squirtle over there for me?" Ryan asked as he climbed back to his feet.

"Sure thing, but," Leaf noticed Squirtle shaking his head. "It doesn't look like Squirtle wants to." Ryan noticed Squirtle shaking his head.

"You want to stay close to me?" Squirtle nodded. "But you're still injured!" As soon as Ryan's point was brought up, Squirtle got up in Ryan's arm and climbed to Ryan's shoulder.

"_I'm fine."_ Squirtle said as he held onto Ryan's shoulder. Ryan shrugged in his head.

"Okay, come on!" Ryan turned his attention to Umbreon and Glaceon, who were staring at each other for a bit.

"I'm surprised it didn't attack while we were busy..." Ryan thought aloud.

"_You're right..."_ Squirtle thought as he looked straight at Glaceon. _"Where did he get a Glaceon from? I don't recall him having one, unless..." _Ryan pulled out the Pokedex once more and opened it.

**Glaceon, the Fresh Snow Pokemon. It causes small ice crystals to form by lowering the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere.**

"Okay Umbreon, Quick Attack!" Ryan called the first move.

"_Alright! Quick Attack!" _A white trail followed Umbreon as he ran towards Glaceon.

"Glaceon, use Mist!" The Pokemon Hunter called out.

"Ryan, Glaceon's gonna use Mist to dodge and hide in this fog!" Leaf told him.

"_She's right... what do I do? If I lose sight of Glaceon, it could attack from anywhere- literally!" _Ryan thought.

"_I don't think so! I'm gonna get you before you- huh?" _Umbreon's nose twitched furiously.

"_Mom's scent is getting stronger! How-" _Umbreon thought aloud as he looked at Glaceon.

"_This Umbreon smells familiar, but how? I've never met one before..." _Glaceon thought.

"_There's only one explanation-" _Squirtle came to a conclusion.

"_That's their mom!" _

_

* * *

_

_**I finished this a lot quicker than I expected. I'll have the next chapter out soon, and no author's note again. Review if you want to! **  
_


	20. Back to the Basics! Part 13

"_Did Squirtle just say..."_ Leaf overheard Squirtle's out loud thinking.

"Huh? What's up, Squirtle?" Ryan looked at Squirtle, who was resting on his left shoulder. Leaf was about to answer for him, but Squirtle shook his head, signaling no.

"_He's right. How would Umbreon take it if he realized he was fighting his own mother?" _Leaf thought. _"This just got even more twisted..."_

"Pidgeot, take a rest, okay?" Leaf returned Pidgeot to it's Pokeball and clipped the Pokeball to her belt.

"Glaceon disappeared!" Ryan said as it happened. Umbreon stopped his Quick Attack at where Glaceon was and started looking around.

"_Where'd-" _Umbreon was interrupted by a command by the Pokemon Hunter.

"Use Ice Fang!"

"Umbreon, behind you!" Ryan yelled in warning. Umbreon quickly turned back- Glaceon's mouth was glowing with a light blue tint, coming at Umbreon!

Ryan acted upon instinct and commanded, "Umbreon, use Sand Attack!"

"_Right! Sand-Attack!" _Umbreon kicked up settled sand and dust up from the ground towards Glaceon, who closed her eyes to avoid the sand. Glaceon still came at Umbreon, but a bit slower.

"_Gotta get out of the way-" _Umbreon leapt into the air as Glaceon nearly bit into him with Ice Fang, successfully dodging the attack!

"Now go in with Bite!" Ryan pointed.

"What?" Leaf objected. "Keep your distance from Glaceon! She can freeze you with a close range Icy Wind or Ice Fang!"

"Did you just say she? How do you know it's a she?" Ryan caught the word she in Leaf's objection.

"Uh," Leaf realized her slip up, since Squirtle face palmed himself. "I... just have a feeling, that's all!" She quickly covered up.

"_Should I tell him? No...they can't know now, of all times." _Leaf thought.

"Okay..." Ryan raised an eyebrow in confusion and turned back to the battle.

"Anyways, keep your focus, Umbreon needs you, look," Leaf coached as she noticed Umbreon was close to Glaceon, trying to use Bite on her while Glaceon dodged every attempt.

"_None of our attacks are hitting at all! It's like we're outclassed- no, we ARE outclassed!" _Ryan thought with a frown.

"Stay calm and focused," Leaf coached once more.

"I'm trying to!" Ryan answered hastily. "Kind of hard when all of our attacks aren't doing a thing..." Ryan muttered. One more Bite attack later, Glaceon disappeared into the fog once more.

"Dang!" Ryan tried to look around for any sign of Glaceon before she could strike. "Squirtle, you see Glaceon anywhere?"

"_No, no sign at all..." _Squirtle shook his head after he looked around.

"_How do you fight something that you literally can't see and can attack from any angle and duck back into cover?" _Ryan asked himself.

"_What can I do to attack before Glaceon strikes? Shadow Ball won't work if Umbreon can't see where he's aiming... Sand-Attack helps at close range, Bite- I just saw... Quick Attack gets us close before Glaceon disappears." _Ryan optioned out.

"_It's taking a while for Glaceon to attack..." _He noticed. _"We don't even have a chance of landing an attack until Glaceon shows itself..."_

"Wait, that's it!" Ryan suddenly said aloud.

"Did you think of something?" Leaf asked.

"Matter of fact, I did." Ryan answered.

* * *

"_This Umbreon smells familiar... no mistaking it. But... how?" _Glaceon thought as she peered through the fog and at a faint figure, assuming it was Umbreon.

"Use Ice Fang on Umbreon!" The Pokemon Hunter commanded suddenly.

"_I'll think about it later." _Glaceon suddenly popped out from the fog and charged at Umbreon once more.

"_Hmm?" _Glaceon noticed that Umbreon just stood still and faced Glaceon as she charged. _"Umbreon's just standing there!"_

"_A little closer... there!" _Ryan thought and then called out. "Now Umbreon, dodge and use Quick Attack now that Glaceon's too close!"

Umbreon nodded as he ducked and rolled to his right in order to dodge and quickly climbed to his paws. Quick Attack's white stream appeared behind Umbreon as he slammed into Glaceon, inflicting damage and knocking her back.

"Okay, now that Glaceon's knocked back, let's finish this with Shadow Ball!" Ryan said. Umbreon nodded as he began charging Shadow Ball. Glaceon was getting up from the impact of Quick Attack.

"_This was a snap once I figured it out!" _Ryan thought. _"We're one step closer to stopping this guy and getting your mom back Umbreon..." _As Ryan thought, something seemed to bother Leaf.

"_Couldn't the hunter have countered that? It seemed a bit too slow... and what's the deal with the lack of commands?" _Leaf thought._ "It's_ _almost ...like he wants Glaceon to get hit!"_ Leaf decided to take a chance.

"Ryan! Stop!"

"Huh? Why?" Ryan asked.

"Ugh... I should've told you this at the beginning, but I wasn't completely sure. I think the hunter _wants _you to hurt Glaceon!" Leaf explained.

"What makes you say that?" Ryan asked, wondering where this idea came from.

"Think about it, you've been issuing commands left and right to Umbreon, while he's been sitting back with only about four or five commands!"

"Okay, and maybe he just outclasses me in battling to the point of only needing those five commands?" Ryan suggested.

"Even the best trainers need to give commands more often than that..." Leaf rebutted.

"But why would he want me to hurt Glaceon?" Ryan asked.

"Because," Leaf took a split second to make a final decision before continuing. "That Glaceon is the mother of Eevee and Umbreon!"

"What?" Ryan reacted in shock. He quickly turned to Umbreon, who had the Shadow Ball charged and ready to fire.

"Stop, Umbreon!" Ryan yelled. "You gotta stop! It's your mom!" Umbreon's eyes widened.

"_M-mom?" _Umbreon unfocused the Shadow Ball, letting the energy escape. He took another good look at Glaceon- was it really her?

"_Mom?" _Glaceon said in slowly approached Glaceon, sniffing carefully.

"_Is it really you, mom?" _Umbreon asked.

"_I..."_ Glaceon took a while to take all of it in.

"_Wait right here mom!" _Umbreon ran back to Ryan with lightning quick speed.

"_I need sis out here!" _Umbreon motioned towards Ryan's pocket.

"What? Wait, I think Eevee needs to be out here too!" Ryan pulled out Eevee's Pokeball and enlarged it.

"Come on out Eevee, Umbreon needs you!" Ryan called out as he released Eevee from her Pokeball, allowing her to materialize next to Umbreon.

"_Brother needs me? For what?" _Eevee asked as she shook her head.

"_Sis! It's-it's-it's-" _Umbreon could hardly hold his excitement.

"_What brother?" _Eevee asked.

"_Mom! Look!" _Umbreon motioned to Glaceon, who was looking at Umbreon and Eevee.

"_That's mama? Are you sure, brother? She doesn't look like her..." _Eevee asked.

"_Come on, I'll show you!" _Umbreon motioned for his sister to follow him to Glaceon.

"Eevee, wait-" Ryan was stopped by Leaf, who put a hand on his shoulder.

"Isn't it a bit too dangerous at the moment for Eevee to wander around?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, but I have a feeling they need this interaction with their mother..." Leaf began. "Besides, how would you feel if you couldn't see your mother, and you were right next to her?"

"...You're right." Ryan admitted simply and dipped his head down as his thoughts wandered.

"_Hmm? What's with him? It's like mentioning his mom's..." _Leaf saved the thought for later as she looked at the reunion scene unfolding in front of them between Glaceon, Umbreon, and Eevee.

* * *

"_Who... is this?" _Glaceon asked as Eevee and Umbreon came up to her.

"_Is it really mama?" _Eevee went a little closer to Glaceon and sniffed her.

"_It smells... like flowers. Mama's flowers." _Eevee dove into Glaceon.

"_Mama!" _Eevee said as she warmly rubbed against Glaceon. Umbreon wanted to join in, but he let his sister enjoy the moment.

"Aww..." Leaf commented as she witnessed the touching scene in front of her. She resisted an urge to let loose a tear- what kind of a champion cries? Ryan was watching the scene quietly, his feelings unreadable.

"_Maybe just this once..." _Leaf thought. Her warmness suddenly came to a halt as she noticed something.

"_Wait, why isn't Glaceon returning Eevee's hug? Aren't they her long lost kids?" _Leaf thought as she noticed Glaceon's glazed look on her face, which replaced her initial look of confusion.

"_I... I'm sorry, but..." _Glaceon backed away from Eevee's embrace.

"_Mama? What's wrong?" _Eevee asked as Glaceon backed up.

"_I don't think you both are my kids." _Glaceon stated.

"_W-what? Mom-" _Umbreon was cut off by Glaceon.

"_I never had any kids!" _Glaceon said.

"_N-no! You're our mom- it's your scent!" _Umbreon rebutted.

"_Mama, you don't recognize me?" _Eevee looked up into Glaceon's eyes.

Glaceon looked hard at Eevee and again at Umbreon. She switched back and forth, thinking hard. Nothing stirred in Glaceon's heart or mind.

"_No... I don't." _Umbreon's and Eevee's hearts plummeted.

* * *

"_What? No!" _Squirtle thought. _"That has to be their mom! There's no other explanation..." _

"What?" Ryan turned to Leaf. "What happened? Why's Glaceon backing up?"

"I don't know! Let me see..." Leaf refreshed a connection with Eevee and Umbreon into their hearts, from earlier. A shock nearly knocked Leaf back.

"Leaf, you alright?" Ryan asked as he ran up to prepare to catch her.

"I-I don't believe it..." Leaf said.

"What happened?" Ryan asked as he and Leaf looked at Eevee, Umbreon, and Glaceon.

"Eevee and Umbreon smelled their mother and said it's definitely her, but... their mother doesn't even remember having kids!"

"That's... terrible!" Ryan couldn't even begin to put the feelings he was feeling into words. The fog cleared up, revealing the Pokemon Hunter, who watched the scene.

"Hey, the fog's clearing!" Professor Maple said as he was able to see Ryan and Leaf.

"What's so funny?" Ryan growled as he saw a slight smirk on the Pokemon Hunter's face.

"_You monster..." _Squirtle glared at the Pokemon Hunter.

"I find it amusing that you think using the little kids story would help you win." The Pokemon Hunter said.

"What?" Ryan, Leaf, Eevee, Umbreon and Squirtle all exclaimed in disbelief.

"That's their mother, you sick little..." Ryan stopped himself from finishing his cursing of the Pokemon Hunter.

"I don't think so, especially since Glaceon said she never had kids... That concludes my little business. Come, Glaceon." The Pokemon Hunter walked casually towards the exit, where Professor Maple stood with Espeon.

"You're not getting past me!" Professor Maple declared as Espeon prepared to attack. Glaceon stood in front of the Pokemon Hunter, ready to block the attack.

"What? Why is she helping him?" Ryan thought aloud.

"_No! Don't hurt our mama!" _Eevee yelled to Espeon.

"_But he's gonna get away!" _Espeon said back. _"Matt, what can we do? We can't hurt their mother..."_

Professor Maple bit his lip.

"Practically nothing," He said as he moved to the side in defeat, allowing the Pokemon Hunter to pass, unscathed.

"Heh, it's not my fault you all were not able to stop me. In fact," The Pokemon Hunter stopped before leaving and turned around.

"I'll let you get one shot at stopping me from leaving, but Glaceon may have an objection to that..." He said as Glaceon stood ready for battle. "What are you waiting for? Do it." He taunted. Ryan tightened his fist and glared at the Pokemon Hunter.

"_I- I have to stop him! But... their mom!" _The internal conflict ate at Ryan. A brief moment passed as neither Ryan, Leaf, nor Professor Maple could do anything.

"Weak. You had a chance to stop me. Remember that." The Pokemon Hunter said simply as he turned and left with Glaceon. As they disappeared from sight, Umbreon and Eevee finally broke down and fell to the ground.

"_M-mom..." _Umbreon couldn't believe it. She was there... she didn't recognize him or his sister.

"_Mama... why?" _Eevee was sobbing on the ground. Ryan stood with his mouth opened. Words would not describe the feeling of anger he felt towards the Pokemon Hunter.

"_That heartless son of a..." _Ryan huffed in anger in his head.

* * *

**Back to the Basics! Will be finished up in about three to five parts, depending if I cut anything out.**


	21. Back to the Basics! Part 14

"Hey, who's that?" Dawn pointed to a man with a Glaceon, who emerged from the underground staircase.

"Dats' the Pokemon Hunter!" Meowth pointed out.

"That's him?" Ash asked. He turned to his shoulder, where Pikachu perched. "You ready?"

"_Yeah!" _Pikachu said as he hopped onto the ground with electricity flowing through his cheeks, ready to shock.

"Piplup, help Pikachu out!" Dawn said to Piplup, who nodded and hopped out of Dawn's arms, landing next to Pikachu.

"Glaceon, use Mist." The Pokemon Hunter commanded. Glaceon seemed to hesitate a bit, almost like she was stirred out of a thought, nodded and started to freeze the air around her, causing mist to shadow her and the Pokemon Hunter.

"He's getting away!" Emily said as the Mist attack enveloped her, Team Rocket and Ash and the others. Their vision was blurred by the Mist attack, allowing the Pokemon Hunter to make his escape.

"Come now, Glaceon," The Pokemon Hunter took out another Pokeball, which wasn't Glaceon's, enlarged it and threw it into the air.

"Swellow," The Pokemon Hunter called out as Swellow materialized on the ground and stretched it's wings. He climbed onto Swellow's back and motioned for Glaceon to jump on. Glaceon nodded and jumped on Swellow's back, where the Pokemon Hunter decided to hold onto Glaceon by tucking her underneath his arm.

"Fly, Swellow." Swellow took off on the Pokemon Hunter's command. The three climbed altitude and threatened to escape without an intervention.

"The Mist is clearing," Emily said. As it did, three more figures emerged from the underground staircase.

"Matt!" Emily called out and pointed towards the sky, where the Pokemon Hunter soared. "He's getting away!"

"I know." Professor Maple stated plainly. Emily, Ash, Dawn, and Brock were bewildered at the plainness, the unimportance, in his voice.

"What do you mean you know? Aren't you gonna go after him?" Ash asked.

"Leaf, is Glaceon still outside with the hunter?" Professor Maple asked.

"The Pokemon Hunter carried a Glaceon under his arms as he flew away on his Swellow, is that what you're talking about?" Brock added.

"Dang it... he knew we'd try to go after him," Ryan gritted his teeth. Squirtle still hung onto his shoulder, while Ryan carried Umbreon in his arms.

"Huh? Why does it matter that he had a Glaceon with him?" Dawn asked, not knowing of the events that took place underground, in the ruins.

"You remember... about their mother?" Ryan asked after a small, brief period of silence.

"Your Umbreon and Eevee's? Yeah, what about her?" Ash asked. Dawn seemed to get the message as her eyes widened in shock.

"You mean, Glaceon's their mom?" Ryan nodded and looked down at Umbreon, who was still in shock.

"Then why is she helping the Pokemon Hunter?" Ash asked.

"I... don't know." Ryan answered as he looked at a broken Umbreon in his arms.

"Then Glaceon could've just caught the scent of their mom, and that Glaceon isn't their mom?" Ash suggested. Leaf shook her head.

"No, Eevee took a good whiff of Glaceon's scent... it was their mom, for sure." Leaf answered.

"Okay, but why is their mom helping the Pokemon Hunter, who kidnapped her?" Brock asked, intrigued at the situation.

"I honestly have no idea, but what was so devastating was the fact their mom... didn't even recognize them." Leaf answered for Ryan, who seemed as lost as Umbreon and Eevee.

"What?" Ash realized why the Pokemon Hunter got away. "He used Glaceon as a shield, didn't he?" Leaf and Professor Maple nodded.

"He knew her own kids wouldn't even put a paw up against her if they knew..." Professor Maple said.

"It was probably a trap from the beginning- a planned out escape..." Leaf reasoned.

"How? He didn't know Eevee and Umbreon were even here until they charged at him..." Ryan asked.

"He probably had Glaceon by luck, so he thought about using her when I came in with Venusaur..." Leaf answered.

"A backup plan for escaping..." Ryan plainly said. He looked up into the night sky, lit up by the moonlight. The Pokemon Hunter was seen, flying at a painfully slow speed, as he was still in sight.

"_How could you..." _Ryan thought as he looked. Umbreon looked up towards the faint shape of the Pokemon Hunter.

"_Mom..." _Umbreon focused on a twinkle that seemed to be under the Pokemon Hunter's arm. Unknowingly to anyone, Glaceon peered back, catching a glimpse of the broken Umbreon in Ryan's arms.

* * *

"_Am I really a mother?" _Glaceon thought. _"I... it's so foggy, yet... why do I feel guilty of leaving that Umbreon and Eevee? My kids?"_ Glaceon shook the thought.

"_There's no way I could be... Hypno said he had saved me as a little kid, near the mountains...and I travelled with him. At least... that's what he said." _Glaceon tried to dismiss thoughts of Umbreon and Eevee, but her train of thought wandered back to their despaired faces.

"_Why? Probably because they're only kids..." _Glaceon turned back forward as the Pokemon Hunter flew, savoring his victory.

* * *

"Hey, where's Team Rocket?" Dawn asked as she noticed the disappearance of the trio.

"I don't know, they were here a second ago..." Brock said.

"Anyways, let's get these guys to the Pokemon Center..." Ryan said as he noticed Squirtle wincing in pain on his shoulder. Ryan dug into his pocket and pulled out a Pokeball from his pocket.

"Umbreon, take a good rest, alright?" Ryan said as Umbreon returned to his Pokeball and pocketed it. "Here, Squirtle, I got'cha." Ryan slowly tranferred Squirtle from his shoulder to his arms.

"Leaf, are you flying back to Arrowroot?" Professor Maple asked.

"Yeah, come on out Pidgeot!" Leaf released Pidgeot from it's Pokeball in front of her.

"If that's the case, Brock, could I see those translations?" Professor Maple turned and asked Brock.

"Of course!" Brock handed over the translations.

"Could've sworn I asked you guys to get it back to my Jeep... oh well." Professor Maple shrugged and then turned to Leaf.

"Leaf, could you take the translation back to my lab? Since you'll get there before we do by a few minutes..." Professor Maple asked.

"Yeah," Leaf took the rolled up translation in her hands, tucked it under her arm and climbed onto Pidgeot.

"Coming, Ryan?" Leaf asked.

"Couldn't I ride with Professor Maple and his ground hugging Jeep?" Ryan suggested as he looked at Professor Maple.

"I'd oblige, but the Jeep was stuffed coming here, and you wouldn't fit. Sorry." He said.

"Okay, yeah, I'm going with you then, Leaf." Ryan turned to climb onto Pidgeot's back. He settled behind Leaf with one arm holding Squirtle, and the other wrapped around Leaf's waist for support.

"Let's go, Pidegot! Back to Arrowroot!" Leaf said.

"_Got'cha!" _Pidgeot nodded as it climbed up into the sky and out of the others sight.

"I think we'd better get going too." Professor Maple suggested. "Come on," He motioned towards the cave passageway and started walking.

"Right!" Ash and the others followed Professor Maple and eventually disappeared from a certain trio's sight from behind a few large rocks.

* * *

"I can't believe that hunter had the audacity to use those kids mother like dat..." Meowth said through tears.

"It's so sad, it's making villains like Team Rocket cry!" James said as he covered his face with an arm.

"Hey, didn't we vow to get back at Pokemon Hunters a while ago?" Jessie asked.

"We did, but we didn't know dat hunter was a Pokemon Hunter..." Meowth said, wiping up his tears.

"Well, I say we go after that Pokemon Hunter!" Jessie surprisingly suggested.

"Are you suggesting we become good guys?" James asked.

"No, of course not- we need those tools the hunter used in order to capture that twerp's Pikachu!" Jessie answered.

"Then aye-aye!" Meowth and James agreed.

* * *

_The ride back on Pidgeot was quiet and rightfully so. I wonder what Leaf and I could've talked about, besides the fact we couldn't stop the Pokemon Hunter. Speaking of which, thinking about him makes my blood boil... . Oops, I made a hole in the paper with the pen._

I wrote that as a note to myself in the journal. It's been about a good half hour after Leaf and I landed back in Arrowroot, and in front of the Pokemon Center. While Leaf went over to Professor Maple's lab to store the recovered translation, I rushed into the Pokemon Center with Squirtle in my arms. Nurse Joy quickly took Squirtle from my arms and asked her Chansey to bring a cart out for him. Squirtle's still over in the Operating Room... I hope he's alright.

Eevee and Umbreon are also being treated by Nurse Joy's staff of Chansey, but I think they'll need more than medicine to get well soon. Speaking of which, I should go check on them- the journal can wait. Now that I look at today's entry, a full three page introduction seems enough.

I got up from the wooden bench next to the Operating Room, leaving my journal on it. Hopefully people have the right sense of mind and leave it alone. I took another look at the light above the Operating Room- it was still lit. My stomach threatened to turn. Was Squirtle in worse shape than I thought? I shook the thought- he was going to be fine!

"Hey, Ryan," I heard someone calling my name, so I turned around- it was that little kid, Daniel.

"Hey Daniel, where've you been?" I asked.

"I fell asleep while you guys were gone," Daniel said as he rubbed his left eye. Come to think of it, he did look groggy.

"I heard about what happened from my big brother- Are they gonna be alright?" Daniel asked me.

"It depends on what you mean, they'll be physically fine, but mentally... it might take a while." I knew which brother sister duo I was referring to.

"I heard Squirtle was being operated on! What happened to Squirtle?" Daniel added to his question.

"He took a nasty hit from a Nidoking's tail and got sent flying into a wall..." I explained.

"He isn't poisoned, is he?" I was puzzled by Daniel's question.

"What do you mean, poisoned? How?" I hoped he was kidding...

"Well, Nidoking have a special ability called 'Poison Point'." Poison Point? I repeated the name in confusion.

"It's an ability that allows Nidoking to poison on physical contact." My stomach plummeted. If Squirtle was poisoned, then the poison had time to spread, since it wasn't like Poison Tail where Brock instantly helped him...

"I- I don't know, Squirtle was clenching his arm after the hit and ever since..." I told Daniel, who answered,

"There might be a chance poison got into Squirtle's arm."

"It would explain the long operating time..." I thought aloud.

"It might take Nurse Joy a while to get the poison out, and there's a chance the poison might linger in Squirtle's body." You had to have been joking. As if there weren't enough problems to deal with...

"How long would it normally take?" I managed to ask Daniel.

"Around a few hours- transferring poison from a pokemon's bloodstream isn't instant magic." Daniel told me. Of course it wasn't magic, I knew that. I just wish it didn't take so long, so my stomach wouldn't stay twisted for long.

"I was about to stay out here until Squirtle came out,"

"That would've been a foolish choice." I looked behind Daniel to see who had came into the conversation. The white bearded professor named Professor Rowan stood there.

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"You wouldn't have been much help, and you would have been doing your back a disservice by falling asleep on that bench." Owch. Professor Rowan definitely hit it where it hurt.

"Anyways, I would like to see you," I was about to follow him, but when I took a step to do so, he finished quickly.

"But after your pokemon are healed." How many times do I have to say it to people- they aren't my pokemon, even if they're marked by Pokeballs now.

"I know they're not your pokemon, but come with them to see me tomorrow." Professor Rowan finished, bid goodnight to us and left through the front door of the Pokemon Center.

"I wonder what he needs you and your pokemon for?" Daniel took the words right out of my mouth as I looked at the operating light above the Operating Room.

* * *

"Here we go..." I stepped into my room, set my bag down and took my hat off. I placed my hat on my desk, slipped my shoes off and lay down on my bed. I needed time to think... not like I haven't had time, maybe I had too much time. I took a look over at my yellow bag- not at the bag, but more of who was in it. Maybe it was time to talk to them...

I got back up, slipped my shoes on, went over to my bag and opened it. The Pokeballs of my companions lay in a pocket, which I took with me as I left my room. As I closed the door, I peered around Matt's lab- nothing but moonlight from the windows shone through. A curiosity went through my head.

"_I wonder where Matt went?"_ The door to his room remained slightly open- he'd never leave it open like that if he was in there.

"_Maybe Dan knows where he is?" _I decided to find out, and went over to Dan's room, which was next to Matt's. I knocked twice.

"Hey, Dan, are you awake?" No answer.

"_I guess not. I can just go over to the Pokemon Center and ask Nurse Joy if she's seen Matt..." _With that, I walked down the corridor and out of the lab's front doors. Along the way, the mess from the break in earlier still remained- Emily obviously needed to sleep or something, since she'd never leave her desk that messy. I wonder why? She doesn't even leave a speck of dirtiness on her desk... she'd freak out.

The moon shone through the night sky, illuminating it. Occasionally, there were sounds of pokemon echoing through; it sounded like Hoothoot and Murkrow. I walked next door to the Pokemon Center, which took a few minutes. It's technically next door, but it's still a lengthy walk.

"Nurse Joy? Matt? Are you here?" I said as I walked through the Pokemon Center's front doors. The reception desk was empty and the lights were dimmed.

"Leaf!" Someone I didn't expect to see popped out from the right corridor.

"Dan? I thought you were asleep in your room?" Then again, he did have a knack of sneaking out without Matt or me knowing...

"I was, until I woke up and saw Matt." Dan told me.

"You saw Matt?" I asked with a slight raised eyebrow. "Did he say anything about-"

"The Pokemon Hunter? Yeah, he did." Dan finished for me. Little kids these days.

"So, you know what happened with the Eevees' mom and Squirtle..." Dan showed a confused look as I mentioned the mom.

"What about their mom? I only heard about Squirtle's injury!" Matt didn't tell him? I guess there's a reason...

"Well, I think Matt will tell you tomorrow... Speaking of Matt, where is he?"

"After he told me about Squirtle and you guys, and after that, he left with his translation and went to his lab." What?

"He's trying to solve the rest of the hieroglyphs now?" I sometimes wondered how Matt ended up as a professor, as stubborn as he is...

"He needs to sleep, it's almost eleven thirty and he has to teach the class tomorrow, in the early morning!" I knew Dan already knew this.

"I know, that's what I told him, but he said," Dan told me the rest in a falsetto older voice.

"_The class can wait! The fate of the world can't! Especially not when there's a chance I can decipher the rest of this now! _And then he shut himself in his lab." Sounds like Matt.

"Well, figures. Is he still there?" I asked Dan.

"I don't know, I left after he shut his door. Knowing big brother, he's probably still there." I couldn't argue with that logic. I thanked Dan, and told him he should head back to sleep when he shook his head.

"Not until Squirtle's out of surgery." I stopped.

"Squirtle's still in surgery? How long has he been in there?" I thought Squirtle was out of there a long time ago...

"Squirtle's been in there ever since Ryan came back with Squirtle in his arms." Wasn't that about nearly an hour and a half ago?

"Where's Ryan?" I knew he wouldn't take it too well; new trainers generally don't.

"Well, Professor Rowan came in here and asked for him, Squirtle, Eevee and Umbreon to see him tomorrow morning."

"Really?" Why would Professor Rowan need to see them? Now that I think about it, Eevee and Umbreon... poor souls.

"Yeah! After he left, Ryan said he was gonna go for a walk, _considering he couldn't do much here_." Dan was probably quoting what Ryan said to him.

"When did he go for a walk?"

"About an hour ago." That's one long walk, especially during the night. "He went towards the forest."

"Really? That's where I was headed."

"Why were you going there, cuz?" Dan has that knack for asking those questions...

"I was going to enjoy the scenery, that's all." Dan knew something was up, and that was a lame excuse.

"Uh huh, I don't think so." I didn't think the excuse was that lame! A grin emerged from Dan's face. "Ha-ha! You wanna tail Ryan, don't you?" I forgot Dan could be annoying like this...

"No... I didn't even know he was there until now!" It was the truth.

"Right, that's what all girls say when they have a crush!" I laughed in my head at his little kid remark.

"A crush? Right..." I rolled my eyes. Kids these days. "I'll see you later, Dan." I walked out the front door, which slid open again after I stepped out.

"And I'll see you lovebirds later!" Kids... they say the darnest things, don't they?

* * *

**How'd a brief 1st person section feel? I originally decided on using it only for the beginning and end of sagas, but I decided otherwise. Whenever the moment feels right, I'll switch to first person. Look for the next chapter soon, and I mean really soon.**


	22. Back to the Basics! Part 15

"_It couldn't have been that hard before," _I thought asmy thoughts wandered to earlier. I finally battled side by side with a pokemon. Well, lost along side with a pokemon. It was very different from battling on my Gameboy in the old days, considering all I had to do was use a control pad and press the A button to attack. If only it was that simple here.

"_You had a chance to stop me. Remember that," _The Pokemon Hunter's last words played over and over again in my head. It was more like a broken record, it repeated, getting worse as it went on. I sighed. I needed to shake these thoughts out of my head. I looked around. Trees, bushes, and shrubs were plentiful where I sat. The moon still radiated through the night sky, giving off a faint light, allowing me to see. It was chilly. I put my arms behind my head as I leaned back against the tree behind me. Looking up, I could see many stars gracing the night sky.

"_Seeing all of these stars reminds me of the spot back home," _I thought as I pictured the old getaway out in the country that Carter, Taylor and I would go to during the summer. Those were good times. I suddenly felt myself beginning to feel... lighter as I recalled more and more of those days.

* * *

_"Ryan,"_ a voice rang through my ears. It sounded like her... it couldn't be! I opened my eyes.

"T-Taylor?" I rushed up to my feet as my heart skipped a beat. She looked solemnly at me. "Is it really you?"

_"Of course! Who else?"_ I heard another familiar voice. He was here too? I looked around my surroundings. Strangely, I knew where I was, but at the same time, I didn't know where I exactly was. As I thought about my surroundings, they solidified. I was at the getaway spot! Miles of green grass was accompanied with a gentle breeze. In the distance, another surprise greeted me. It was Carter!

"Carter!" He appeared next to Taylor, and when he did, an urge overpowered me. I grabbed the both of them and started to hug them. I didn't want to let go. The sun shone through the light blue sky, making the beautiful day even better. "I missed you guys so much!" Well, it was only two days, but it felt like an eternity, with all of the things that've been going on. Pained grunts from Taylor and Carter prompted me to stop my hug.

"Sorry," I rubbed the back of my head in slight embarrassment. My heart felt overwhelmed with so many emotions, I had no idea where to start. "I've got so much to tell you! Pokemon are real, and in this world and," I stopped as Taylor and Carter both held their hands up. "Huh? What's up?" I asked.

_"Ryan, think about your past experiences in the last couple of days. Does any of this make sense?"_ Taylor suddenly asked me as she motioned around her.

"What do you mean? I mean, you guys are here and that's all that matters." I said as a feeling started welling up inside the pit of my stomach.

_"Think about it, bud. Think about it,"_ Carter added. I shook my head in denial.

"What do you guys mean? As long as you guys are... wait," I stopped as I realized what the sinking feeling at the pit of my stomach was.

"You guys aren't real..." I said aloud, not wanting to admit it. Clouds started to cover the sun as the wind picked up from a gentle breeze to mild gusts.

_"Yes, and no,"_ They both answered, confusing me._"We're not real, but our personas are. We are as you see us,"_ 'Carter' and 'Taylor' explained. Wait, what?

"Does that mean, I'm in a dream?" I asked as I took a look around. Now that I realized it, everything around me seemed more surreal and fuzzy. I kneeled down to touch a blade of grass. It felt real, even though it wasn't. I was feeling something that wasn't actually there!

_"Yeah, it does, but this is more than a dream," _Taylor told me as I rose to my feet.

"What do you mean?" I asked as my head started to hurt from the confusion.

_"This is your happy place,"_ Carter simply explained to me.

_"We're your guides in this place, your subconscious chose us as figureheads for this place," _Taylor explained.

_"Whenever your mind is troubled by things, you might end up here occasionally,"_ Carter added in. Things just got a little weirder.

"So, this place was constructed by my mind? I could control it if I wanted to, right?" I asked them. A little more sun wouldn't hurt, especially since this was my happy place.

_"Not exactly. Your subconscious made this place. You didn't do it yourself, consciously," _Taylor explained. _"Your experiences helped give your subconscious a base model to build this place for you,"_ she continued to explain.

"So everything in here, is a result of my life?" I asked in wonder.

_"You could put it that way,"_ Taylor answered. _"This is just one area of your subconscious."_

"Wait, I thought you said this was my happy place?" I was confused, to say the least.

_"It is, but it's only one part of it,"_ Carter explained. _"You see that door over there?"_ I looked over to where Carter pointed. A wooden door was there! It felt out of place, and for some reason, I felt a slight chill as I acknowledged the door's existence.

"Yeah, other than the fact it feels out of place, what about it?" I curiously asked him.

_"That leads to another part of your subconscious. Where? I have no idea," _Carter explained. _"We're only figureheads for this part, and some other parts," _he added.

"There're other figureheads in other parts of my brain?" I asked simply. Taylor and Carter nodded. "Will I know them as well as you guys?" I asked, worried the figureheads wouldn't be as friendly as they were.

_"We can't say. Figureheads can symbolize many things, whether you are aware of it or not," _Taylor began to explain, before Carter cut in.

_"Also, as you gain more experiences, figureheads also tend to change accordingly."_ Carter added in.

_"Hey, let me explain!"_ Taylor said to Carter, with her hands to her waist in obvious annoyance.

_"Alright,"_ Carter raised his hands in self defense and leaned back a bit. I couldn't help but laugh a bit. They definitely acted like the real Carter and Taylor!

_"As I was saying, figureheads change accordingly to your experiences, good or bad, so be prepared for that. Also, figureheads may not be familiar to you at first. They may even have certain features blocked out until you recall something, but they have been in your life at one point, and you have seen them,"_ she finished. I took a moment to review the slew of information Taylor told me.

"These parts are some sort of memory holders? Or something like that?" I asked. They both nodded. "Am I here because some memory of mine is gonna be recalled or something?" I asked, now that I felt something stirring in my head.

_"Well, not at the moment, but you're having troubling thoughts that triggered this trip," _Taylor explained. There was no argument there.

_"Basically, we're here for you, Ryan,"_ Carter said. _"You feel pretty useless at the moment, don't you?"_ How did they know? Well, considering they're a part of my mind... it makes sense. I nodded.

_"You blame yourself for not being able to lead Squirtle earlier today, not being able to save Eevee and Umbreon's mom, and letting the Pokemon Hunter get away, right?"_ Taylor continued. Did she have to list it like that? It felt like my heart was getting shot, point blank. Not like I'd have experience like that, but still! I simply nodded.

_"Well, don't pity yourself!" _Taylor suddenly got into her lecture voice I was all too familiar with. This time, I was on the other end. _"Standing still and pitying yourself, is that gonna help Eevee and Umbreon rescue their mom?"_ I was about to object with the fact their mom doesn't even recognize them, but Taylor cut me off.

_"Is pity gonna help Squirtle recover from the poison? Is pity gonna help you help them?"_ Something in my mind told me to run away, but my legs wouldn't move and my ears absorbed every painful truth Taylor spewed out. _"Is pity gonna help you find your mom?" _That pushed one of my buttons.

"What does this even have to do with my mom?" I growled.

_"Because, pitying yourself won't help you or your friends and it certainly won't help you find your mom," _Taylor finished. Suddenly, the two of them started to fade away, disappearing into the wind.

"No, wait!" I ran up to where Carter and Taylor disappeared. I was too late. I sunk to my knees as I contemplated what had happened. What they said was right. I couldn't pity myself, it wouldn't change a thing! The sun came out from the clouds as I slowly rose to my feet and looked across the grassy plain. Carter and Taylor, even though it wasn't really them, helped me make my resolve. I'm determined to get Umbreon and Eevee's mother back. There's no time for pity. Why does it feel like this place is shaking?

* * *

"Ryan, wake up!" Leaf was shaking Ryan by his shoulders. _"I've been shaking him for a good few seconds now, and he still hasn't woken up yet!" _Leaf thought. She planned on reflecting on her thoughts out in the forest and went to her usual spot. When she got there, she found Ryan asleep against a tree. Leaf waited a few minutes for Ryan to wake up. A half hour passed, so she decided to shake him until he woke up. He suddenly opened his eyes and jumped up, alarming Leaf.

"Calm down!" Leaf put her hands on his shoulders, keeping him in place. Ryan looked around at his surroundings.

"_Okay, now I'm almost sure I'm not dreaming, but just to be sure," _Ryan raised his hand next to his cheek and pinched himself. "Ow!" He knew he was awake.

"Why'd you do that?" Leaf asked him, puzzled as to why he pinched himself.

"I wanted to make sure I was actually awake, I mean you never know," Ryan awkwardly explained, realizing how weird he was being. "_Especially after that," _Ryan thought as he recalled his "dream". Leaf shrugged at the explanation, it was good enough for her.

"Anyways, what're you doing sleeping out here?" Leaf asked. "Shouldn't you be at the Pokemon Center with Squirtle?"

"Well, I figured I wouldn't be much help, and I needed some time alone to think. So, I figured it was a good as time as any," Ryan explained as he stretched his arms.

"You definitely seemed to be in quite a deep thought," Leaf said with a hint of sarcasm. Ryan chuckled awkwardly as he sat back down. He gave himself space to lay down.

"I guess so," Ryan agreed as he lay down, looking up towards the night sky. Curious, Leaf decided to take a seat next to him.

"Was it about Squirtle and the others?" Leaf questioned. Ryan recalled Taylor and Carter's dissection of his thoughts.

"Yeah... mostly," Ryan answered as he continued to gaze at the stars. "Well... I was thinking about my mom," Ryan finally said, remembering what 'Taylor' had brought up.

"Your mom? Are you feeling homesick?" Leaf asked, not knowing the real reason.

"Homesick's a part of it. I miss my best friends, Carter and Taylor, even though it's been a couple of days," Ryan seemed to go into monologue mode as Leaf listened. "I wish I could go back and let them know I'm alright, but I won't, even if I had the chance," he heavily said.

"What do you mean?" Leaf asked. Ryan stared at a group of stars, projecting an image in his head of Carter and Taylor smiling. It shifted to an image of Eevee and Umbreon.

"I promised I'd help Eevee and Umbreon get their mom back, and I won't go back on that promise, even after today," Ryan said with conviction. He continued before Leaf could say anything. "And I wouldn't, even knowing that their mom doesn't remember them. But, I honestly don't believe a mother could really forget her own kids," Ryan finished.

"You would still help even when you could go home? What if it meant you couldn't go back home for a long time?" Leaf asked Ryan, knowing this was something that would bothered him. He didn't hesitate to answer:

"Even if I found a way back tomorrow, I wouldn't take it. I don't go back on my promises like that." Leaf looked stunned.

"What makes you keep your promises?" Leaf continued to ask as she dug deeper into the personal questions. Ryan took a moment to think. He had never thought about that before. _"What makes me keep my promises? Hmm."_ He took a breath before answering Leaf. "Well, I guess it's because I feel like people need a promise that can be kept to keep moving on in their lives," Ryan couldn't believe what he was spilling out of his mouth, but he continued. "If everything goes wrong in their life, at least there's at least one thing went right for them... the promise I kept. If I couldn't help them in any other way, at least I kept my promise," he finished. Leaf looked at Ryan in amazement.

"_I didn't think there could be anyone who even thinks like this... I wonder what caused him to be like this?" _Leaf thought as she examined Ryan, who closed his eyes. "You had to have had some sort of influence to say the things you've said," Leaf stated.

"I guess. I followed mostly in my mom's footsteps, wherever she may be," Ryan softly said.

"Hmm? Wherever she may be?_" _Leaf repeated. "Is your mom..." Leaf finished her sentence in her head. "_Dead?" _Ryan knew what she had implied.

"I hope not," Ryan thought aloud, without question. "I've never met my mom." A sorrow look appeared on Ryan's face. Leaf noticed it and felt sorry for him. She also felt like she had pried too far.

"_I couldn't imagine... Well, I've never met my dad," _Leaf thought as she sympathized with Ryan. He continued to talk while Leaf thought.

"My dad always used to tell me as a little kid, whenever I asked about mom, that she was one of the kindest people ever to live. Even though she was famous and she didn't have to, she always helped people that needed it the most," Ryan explained in a tone of nostalgia. He didn't know where it came from, but he welcomed it as pride welled up inside of him.

"From what you've told me, your dad told you she was..." Leaf couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence with that word.

"I know... but somehow, I don't think she's gone," Ryan confidently said as he opened his eyes.

"What makes you think so?" Leaf curiously asked.

"It's," Ryan stopped as he noticed a shooting star flying across the sky. He had to make a wish, even though it sounded silly. He closed his eyes again. _"Shooting star, please let a mother and her children be reunited..." _He silently made his wish as Leaf looked at him peculiarly. She shied away as Ryan opened his eyes and looked at her.

"It's just a feeling, that's all," Ryan answered Leaf. "Anyways, what made you curious about all of this?" Leaf quickly thought up of something to say.

"I was just wondering, that's all. Besides, you were asleep for a good while," she answered. Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, okay," he accepted. Then a thought occurred to Ryan. "Wait, what are you doing out here, anyways?" He picked a spot in the forest where no one would probably bother him. Leaf had hoped Ryan wouldn't bring it up. She stammered slightly as she tried avoiding mentioning this was her "thinking spot". "You know, considering I spilled my beans, maybe it wouldn't hurt if you did too?"

A look of hesitation appeared on Leaf's face. She wasn't sure what to do. "It's fine if you don't want to, or if it bothers you that much, but I've heard a couple of things, I heard you don't wanna battle anymore," Ryan said, hoping Leaf would respond. She instantly did.

"You did? From Matt?" Leaf asked as Ryan nodded his head.

"We all have our reasons for doing things, right? I wonder what was yours..." Ryan thought aloud. Another silence followed as Ryan turned back to the starry sky. Just when Ryan had given up on getting an answer from Leaf:

"I just don't have a reason anymore, you know?" Leaf answered as Ryan shook his head. He motioned for her to continue. "It's just... my mom always supported me. She was always there for me, no matter what."

"_Was? Does that mean what I think it means?" _Ryan thought the worst had happened, and unfortunately, his assumption was answered.

"Until she passed away," Leaf finished as she looked down, her bangs covering her face. Ryan felt saddened as he sat up. Had he taken it a bit too far?

"I understand why you'd want to quit, but... I'd think your mom wouldn't want you to quit doing something you like to do, you know? All I know is, if I ever had a kid, and I passed away, I'd want them to live on and be happy... and as cheesy as it sounds, it'd make me happy," Ryan said. He couldn't tell if Leaf was listening, as her bangs were still covering her face.

"I guess you need some time to yourself too? Don't worry," Ryan rose to his feet and stretched. "I hope you find what you're looking for in your thoughts," Ryan said to Leaf as he walked away. He stopped suddenly and turned back for a split second.

"A friend once told me: I don't think it's worth the time to pity yourself, when you could be doing other things, achieving your goals, no matter what they are. I hope it helps," Ryan turned and left the clearing. He didn't look back at Leaf. She needed privacy.

"_I hope I didn't make her mad like I was earlier with Taylor," _Ryan laughed in his head as he looked up into the starry sky once more. He knew what he had said earlier and he meant every word. There was no turning back on his promise.

"_I'm coming home... just wait for me," _he thought as he began his trek back to the Pokemon Center.

* * *

**After long and careful thought, I decided to cut the last chapter, since it didn't offer much, in my opinion. It felt badly written, plot wise, so I decided to not post it. This is the final chapter of Back to the Basics. Check out my profile for up to date news, every Sunday!**


	23. Promises Part 1

**Hello! Welcome to Promises, the third saga. I'm still finalizing the last revisions in Back to the Basics, which will be up when they are done. Until then, I decided on posting this intro chapter into the saga. Enjoy!**

* * *

The cool mist of the forest tickled my nose as I jogged by. It felt relaxing, or it would've, if I wasn't in the middle of a jogging workout. Here I was, in Arrowroot Forest, working out at the crack of dawn. It's surprising how one small thought about football back home could turn into something like this! Coach needed his players in tiptop shape, so I figured a jog couldn't hurt.

Looking around my surroundings, I couldn't notice much besides the shrubs and trees hiding behind the mist. Besides my pounding feet, the forest was silent, minus an occasional rustling noise or two. It was a bit unnerving, but just thinking about happy thoughts and moving along did wonders for me. Huh... happy thoughts? My thoughts shifted to what happened in the 'happy place' from a week ago. It felt odd. Actually, it was absurd. Exploring my mind for memories? If it happens again, I'm getting to the bottom of things. "Carter" and "Taylor" should have some answers for me...

My jog slowed down to a walking pace as I began to catch my breath. I closed my eyes as I took a deep exhale in... and a deep breath out. My pounding heart relaxed as I felt sweat drip down my face. It was a successful workout, considering I broke a sweat. But... there was another reason sweat was pouring.

I opened my eyes, seeing the gate to despair... at least, that's what I called it. Especially since that day. I knew the cave entrance led to ancient ruins, but it's what happened down there that... I shook my head. It wasn't the time to think about it, especially since Eevee and Umbreon were still out of it. They were physically fine, but according to Nurse Joy, they would need a long time to recover emotionally. Probably could've figured that out myself... Wouldn't want to meet anyone who would still be in one piece after being forgotten by their mom. I started to wonder if Brock knew anything that could possibly help, until I remembered.

He left, along with Ash and Dawn, to continue their journey. They wanted to stay and help out as much as they could, but when Brock found out the Sinnoh League Tournament was in less than a few weeks, I knew I couldn't let them stay. Ash hadn't even earned his last badge yet! With that realization, they had to leave and go on without me. As much as I would've enjoyed journeying along with Ash, there were more important things for me to take care of. Before they left, they promised to give me a call when they arrived at Sunyshore City. I haven't gotten that call yet.

Facing away from the cave entrance, I sat down for a small stretch. I needed to relax, otherwise, I might end up like Professor Maple.

For the past week, the professor's been in his study, deciphering away. His assistant, Emily, told me and his nearby family, Leaf and Daniel, about his recklessness. According to her, he's been getting only an hour or two of sleep a day, which worried her. Emily tried getting Professor Maple to take longer breaks, but it was to no use. He just kept working on the hieroglyphs, retorting Emily's requests with the urgency of having them fully translated.

Nearly a few days in, it proved too much for him. Emily came into his room and found him unconscious on the floor. He's been hospitalized in the Pokemon Center since.

I don't blame him for being paranoid about this, though. The hieroglyphs could lead to some sort of ancient civilization conquering weapon or something! Then again, there's a reason stuff like that's only in the movies. It doesn't happen in real life. Well, minus what's happened lately...

After taking a deep inhale and exhale, I began to jog back the way I came. I had to hurry, since Squirtle was probably wondering where I went off to. The only good thing that came out from that day was that ever since, Squirtle's been friendlier to me. I'm not talking like, hugging friendly... more like getting to know someone friendly. But at least it's a step in the right direction.

It'd help even more if I could understand what Squirtle was saying. I mean, I've had to resort to yes or no questions to get a "conversation" going! Even then, it's like Spanish class all over again. Just me shaking and nodding my head and just going along with it... without a clue.

And for some odd reason, during dinner last night, Leaf told me that Professor Maple wanted to give something to me later today... I wonder what it could be?

I sped up my jogging pace, despite my crying sore legs. I reasoned with them, or rather, with myself... there was going to be breakfast waiting. It felt like my legs stopped their aching protest, which let me pick my pace up. Who says you can't run on an empty stomach?

* * *

A sigh rang through the air as Ryan stared up at the bunk bed above him. His mind had been wandering again... and he nearly dozed off again! He couldn't sleep. Not now. Everything was supposed to be packed and ready to go before six. It was five minutes before six, according to the wall clock.

"_Do I have everything packed? Hmm..."_

A last minute thought saved Ryan as he realized- he almost forgot something important! Ryan stood up from his bed and looked around the room. It was the same room he had shared with Ash and the others, meant for four guests, as the two bunk beds implied. Ever since they left, he had the entire room to himself.

Ryan's backpack was leaning against the legs of the small table in the middle of the room. It looked hastily packed, due to a couple of shirt sleeves hanging out. The top of the small table was empty, save for a flower vase. He fumbled around the floor near the table and found what he was looking for.

"_Ah, here it is!" _

He held a roped necklace that held a few old wooden beads on one end, with a strange symbol hanging on the cord of the necklace. It looked, somewhat, like a half yin yang symbol, Ryan thought as he held the necklace in the palm of his hand, glancing at it. He had no idea why he had nearly forgotten about this.

"_Professor Maple told me to hang on to it, but for what?" _The necklace's importance escaped him as he pocketed it away.

"_Maybe I'll have some time to think on the way to Canalave City."_

* * *

It was 6:02 PM, Ryan observed from his newly acquired Pokegear. Professor Maple's assistant, Emily, gave him the Pokegear before he left, as a present after last night. It might have been an older model that lacked a few features that Leaf's had, such as a radio or video calling, but it didn't matter to Ryan. At least he had a working Pokegear in place of his phone, Ryan happily thought.

He stood in front of the Pokemon Center's doors, waiting for Leaf to come out with her healed party of pokemon. Ryan had picked his pokemon up a minute ago, with Umbreon and Eevee inside of their Pokeballs. Umbreon had shown signs of improvement in his mood, but Eevee was still stagnant in her down mood. Nurse Joy remarked that she had never seen a case like their's before. All she could recommend for Ryan to do was to spend more time playing with them and see how it would go from there.

Squirtle, on the other hand, refused to go inside of a Pokeball, as Ryan witnessed several times. Each throw seemed to result in an earlier break out, even though Squirtle _wanted _to be captured. No one had a clue as to why it was happening, until Leaf remembered something. If Squirtle was truly the Pokemon Hunter's pokemon, he probably had Squirtle's Pokeball. And thanks to the way the Pokeball Transport System worked, a pokemon could only be "marked" by one Pokeball at a time. Until another solution came around, Ryan decided to let Squirtle sit in his backpack... while they flew. He shuddered as Leaf emerged from the Pokemon Center. It was time to fly.

"Come on, we'd better get moving so we get there by sundown!"

Leaf enlarged a Pokeball and released Pidgeot from inside. As Pidgeot stood ready, Leaf brushed her companion a bit before climbing aboard it's back. She looked back behind her. Ryan hesitated for a few seconds before nodding and also climbing onto Pidgeot's back. As Pidgeot ascended into the air, Ryan accidentally held a tight grip around Leaf's waist, repeating what happened during last night's flight.

"S-Sorry!" Ryan felt scarlet red on his cheeks as he loosened his scared grip.

Leaf excused it as she said, "Flying's not that scary, you know..." She lifted both of her hands off of Pidgeot, making Ryan's heart skip a few beats as he closed his eyes tightly.

"_I'm not opening my eyes until we're on solid ground!"_

* * *

The time was 6:57 PM, as Ryan observed from his Pokegear. He stuffed the Pokegear into his jeans' pocket as he took a few gulps of water from his bottle and took a bite from his sandwich. It had taken the past hour for him and Leaf to cross over to the west side of Mount Coronet, due to the fact they had to do it on foot. He was relaxing, sitting across from Leaf and the campfire she had made from kindling they gathered.

"_I think I can finally feel my fingers again,"_ Ryan thought as he switched between eating and warming his hands against the fire.

"_Hopefully the pokemon are faring better than I am at the moment..."_

With that thought, Ryan looked beside him. Squirtle was busy munching on the half sandwich Ryan had given him. He didn't look like he had just crossed a mountain range, considering Squirtle was warm inside of Ryan's backpack the entire time. Eevee and Umbreon were quietly finishing the last of their batches of Brock's Pokemon Food next to the fire.

"How was the food guys? Brock made it himself," Ryan cheerfully began. He had hoped he could start some sort of conversation to cheer them up, but Eevee and Umbreon simply nodded and kept to themselves. Their sadness was contagious, Ryan thought as he felt his smile droop. Leaf subtly cleared her throat, getting his attention.

"I think we'd better get going again," Leaf said as she stood up, packing her food back into her messenger bag. Ryan nodded in agreement. Perhaps he could think of something that would help them before the next break, he thought as he returned Umbreon and Eevee back into their Pokeballs. Ryan couldn't help but sigh as he pocketed the Pokeballs and began packing up.

"_We have our work cut out for us..." _Squirtle thought as Ryan helped him back into his backpack. He shared Ryan's glum look as he racked his mind for any ideas. Squirtle thought about brainstorming with Ryan, but the distinct language wall prevented that from being a possibility. Although... it felt like it was cracking a bit.

"Come on out Pidgeot!"

Leaf released Pidgeot from it's Pokeball, letting Pidgeot stretch it's wings for a bit. Before she embarked onto Pidgeot's back, she turned to Ryan suddenly.

"I think I have an idea that might help! Matt gave you that necklace, right?" Ryan nodded as he felt around his jeans' pocket and pulled out the wooden necklace Leaf was talking about. Professor Maple _did_ give it to him without explaining what it was...

"Good. I'll help you out next time we land, but for now, we have to keep moving. Professor Redwood is waiting for us at the Canalave Library," Leaf said as she climbed onto Pidgeot's back.

"_How is the necklace going to help? Is it magic or something? I guess I'll find out after we get Professor Maple's translations over to Canalave City." _Ryan swung the necklace over his neck and climbed onto Pidgeot's back, holding onto Leaf tightly. They ascended into the sky once more- although Ryan couldn't see through his closed eyes.

"_Eevee... Umbreon... got to help..."_

Through the whooshing of the air, a faint whisper made it's way to Ryan's ears. It didn't sound like Leaf at all... it didn't even sound human! As Pidgeot accelerated through the skies, the whisper was no longer audible. He simply shrugged the whispering voice off- airsickness must have finally got to him, he reasoned.


End file.
